Rozenstruik to face Overeem in UFC on ESPN 7 main event

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Rozenstruik is replacing Walt Harris for the December 7th card in Washington DC. Ask and you shall receive.
After a quick KO of Andrei Arlovski, Surinamese heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik …

UFC 244: Arlovski v Rozenstruik

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Rozenstruik is replacing Walt Harris for the December 7th card in Washington DC.

Ask and you shall receive.

After a quick KO of Andrei Arlovski, Surinamese heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik will take on Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington DC. Rozenstruik is replacing Walt Harris, who withdrew from the bout as he continues his search for his missing stepdaughter.

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported the news on Monday.

Rozenstruik (9-0) is a heavy-hitting striker who is 3-0 in the UFC. He made his debut in February, knocking out Junior Albini early in round two. His next two fights have lasted a grand total of 38 seconds; Allen Crowder was done and dusted in nine seconds, while Arlovski was wiped out in 29 seconds last Saturday at UFC 244.

Speaking with reporters after the Arlovski bout, the 31-year-old expressed his desire to face Overeem on short notice, and he got his wish.

Overeem (45-17, 1 NC) is on a two-fight win streak, having knocked out Alexey Oleinik at UFC Saint Petersburg in April. He also scored a ground-and-pound TKO over the debuting Sergey Pavlovich last November. Overeem will obviously be cognizant of Rozenstruik’s power, seeing as he’s been knocked out 13 times just in his MMA career.

UFC on ESPN 7 takes place on Saturday, December 7th. Other notable fights on the card include Carlos Condit vs. Mickey Gall, Rob Font vs. Ricky Simon, and Yana Kunitskaya vs. Aspen Ladd.