A heavyweight collision for this summer between Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik has been set. The two title hopefuls will headline UFC Fight Night 207 on June 4th.
The news was first broken by ESPN MMA‘s Brett Okamoto. The June 4th event currently has a lot of other matchups already set for the card. Some of the more notable bouts set for the card feature a bantamweight showdown between Dan Ige and Movsar Evloev, and a women’s flyweight fight between Erin Blanchfield and J.J. Aldrich.
The fight between Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik is a pivotal matchup for both men. While both men are currently ranked in the top ten, they’ve also hit a rough patch lately. Volkov and Rozenstruik have both lost two of their last three fights.
The Russian was last seen in action at UFC London in the headliner against Tom Aspinall. He wound up losing the bout via submission, his second loss in his last three Octagon appearances. Prior to his current stretch, he was coming off back-to-back knockout victories over Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris.
‘Bigi Boy’ on the other hand, is coming off a lopsided unanimous decision loss to Curtis Blaydes at UFC 266. Rozenstruik has had an up and down UFC career since his 10-0 start to his MMA career. Now sitting at a 12-3 professional record, his most recent victory was over Augusto Sakai last June.
While neither man will likely get a title shot with a victory, this is a must-win for both to remain in title contention. While Francis Ngannou is on the sidelines and the division is up in the air, this is an important fight to watch come June 4th.
What do you think about Alexander Volkov vs. Jairinzho Rozenstruik? Who are you picking in this heavyweight collision?