MMA
UFC Fight Night preview: Volkov and Rozenstruik meet in heavyweight stalwart clash
Another week, another round of UFC action and it’s former Bellator world champion Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik that headline Saturday night’s card from Nevada in an intriguing heavyweight clash.
After some inconsistent results from both fighters in recent years, Volkov and Rozenstruik will be eager to get back to winning ways.
Volkov to climb up the heavyweight rankings?
As mentioned, this is a fight in which both men will be looking to get their names back into the win column, having lost their last outings. With Alexander Volkov ranked seventh in UFC’s heavyweight rankings and Jairzinho Rozenstruik one position behind in eighth, this is a classic tale of two fighters seeking to propel themselves up the rankings with a much-needed victory to progress in the heavyweight division. But who is more likely to make that step forwards?
It’s Volkov who heads into Saturday’s bout as the odds-on favourite, with the Russian priced at 8/13 for victory. Volkov will be making his second appearance of the year after losing out to Tom Aspinall in London. That result took the 33-year-old’s UFC record to 8-4, showcasing some of the inconsistency that has plagued his time in the corporation. With his last four fights reading W-L-W-L, it’s clear it’s been a case of one step forward, two steps back for the Russian.
In fact, each of his losses have come against fighters currently stationed ahead of him in the rankings – further proof of his need for some statement wins in the division. But Volkov is the favourite for a reason and will boast his usual reach advantage on Saturday night, while he is a good tactician, aware of when to attack and when to stop. This should all work in his favour and as such Volkov to win by decision is 2/1, while he is 9/4 to win by KO, TKO or DQ.
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Rozenstruik to get back to winning ways?
Rozenstruik, meanwhile, heads into this fight with similar issues of inconsistency, with his last four fights also reading W-L-W-L, and most recent being a loss to Curtis Blaydes back in September 2021. His win prior to that bout came against Augusto Sakai, however, which did land him the Performance of the Night prize.
Like, Volkov the 34-year-old is something of a UFC top 10 heavyweight stalwart, but he will be hungry for more than that and to climb up the rankings, which a win here could provide. The Surinamese fighter is 13/10 to do just that and spring a surprise on Volkov in Nevada this weekend.
Punching is Rozenstruik’s biggest weapon – something he displayed superbly when he knocked out Allen Crowder in just nine seconds back in 2019, which was the second quickest knockout in UFC heavyweight history. Rozenstruik will be hoping to lean on that side of his game against Volkov and he is 2/1 to win by KO, TKO or DQ.
