A clash between UFC heavyweight contenders Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik will headline the promotion’s June 4 Fight Night card.
While Volkov, ranked #7, will be making his second appearance of the year, Rozenstruik, currently sat at #8 on the divisional ladder, will make the walk to the Octagon for the first time in 2022.
Both men will be looking to rebound having fallen short in their respective last outings. The bout was first reported by ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto.
Volkov (34-10), a former Bellator heavyweight champion, is a 12-fight UFC veteran who’s competed in the Octagon since 2016. Among his notable wins in the promotion are victories over Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve, Fabricio Werdum, and Alistair Overeem.
In his recent appearances, the Russian has traded wins and losses. After a five-round setback to Ciryl Gane last June, Volkov quickly bounced back in Abu Dhabi with a decision triumph against Marcin Tybura at UFC 267. But at UFC London last month, “Drago” fell victim to the all-round game of rising star Tom Aspinall. In his attempt to rebound on June 4, Volkov will be appearing in his seventh UFC main event.
Rozenstruik (12-3), meanwhile, will be headlining a card on MMA’s biggest stage for the fourth time. The Surinamese powerhouse broke through as a mainstream attraction thanks to four knockouts in his first four Octagon appearances, including against former champion Andrei Arlovski and Overeem.
But at the hands of current champion Francis Ngannou in 2020, Rozenstruik suffered his first professional defeat, and in brutal fashion. Since a 20-second KO loss to “The Predator,” the 34-year-old has gone 2-2, with victories over Junior dos Santos and Augusto Sakai joined by setbacks against Gane and Curtis Blaydes.
Rozenstruik was scheduled to face Tybura at UFC 273 earlier this month, but the Pole withdrew days before the event due to sickness.
After a disappointing performance against “Razor” in his most recent fight last September, Rozenstruik will hope to return to his sleep-inducing KOs when he shares the Octagon with Volkov on June 4.
The current fights expected to take place on June 4 are as follows:
Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (heavyweight main event)
Dan Ige vs. Movsar Evloev (featherweight)
Joaquin Buckley vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov (middleweight)
Jeff Molina vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (flyweight)
Ode’ Osbourne vs. Zarrukh Adashev (flyweight)
Poliana Botelho vs. Karine Silva (women’s strawweight)
Andreas Michailidis vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov (middleweight)
Who do you think wins this Octagon-shaking collision, Alexander Volkov or Jairzinho Rozenstruik?
Continue Reading Volkov vs. Rozenstruik Headlines UFC Fight Night On June 4 at MMA News.