UFC Vegas 56 went down this past weekend (Sat., June 4, 2022) live from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Felice Herrig, who was submitted by Karolina Kowalkiewicz (see it here) and then subsequently retired from the sport (details here).
And Dan Ige, who was dominated by Movsar Evloev for 15 minutes, losing his third straight fight. But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
Coming into his headlining bout against Alexander Volkov, “Bigi Boy” was looking to bounce back after suffering a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Curtis Blaydes at UFC 266. Of course, that was due in larger part to “Razor’s” great wrestling skills. Against Volkov, however, Rozenstruik was more in his comfort zone because a standup battle was all but guaranteed.
And that’s just what went down for as long as the fight lasted because the two men wasted no time in meeting in the center of the cage and letting the bombs fly. And during a heavy exchange two minutes into the bout, Volkov drilled Rozenstruik with a straight right hand the rocked him. He then followed it up with a flurry of strikes that not only sent his mouthpiece flying, but sent him stumbling to the canvas.
A few seconds later referee Herb Dean stepped in to call and end to the fight, much to the chagrin of Surinamese big man.
“I’m kinda confused on how the fight went and I’m disappointed that it was stopped,” Rozenstruik said after the event. “It definitely was a troubling situation, but I was far from giving up the fight. Did someone lay flat on the ground with his eyes shut? That’s what we call a knockout,” he wrote, before saying he’d like a quick turnaround.
“Alexander and I basically just started exchanging some heavy strikes. The stuff you all wanted to see! Big up to Alexander Volkov for taking the fight. I’ve no notable damage and I like to fight soon.”
With two straight losses, Rozenstruik also drops to 1-3 over his last four. Taking it back further, “Bigi Boy” is 2-4 in his last six fights, which is a stark contrast from the impressive undefeated (4-0) start to his UFC career (all knockouts).
Currently ranked No. 8 in the division, Rozenstruik will likely drop a spot or two following his latest setback, but a chance to bounce back could be around the corner since he is eying a quick turnaround. And in the Heavyweight division, it doesn’t take but a few impressive knocking of heads to get back in the mix.
As for what’s next for “Bigi Boy,” a fight against Chris Daukaus is in order. Like Rozenstruik, Daukaus is also on a two-fight losing streak following a hot start to his UFC career. He is also ranked one spot behind Rozenstruik, so the fight seems like the logical one to make moving forward.
For complete UFC Vegas 56 results and coverage click here.