An important heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Jairzinho Rozenstruik has been added to this fall’s UFC 266 pay-per-view card.
MMAFighting.com first reported that Blaydes vs. Rozenstruik will take place at UFC 266, which takes place on September 25 at a location that has yet to be determined. The main event for the card is scheduled to be UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira for 205lbs gold. Also expected to take place on the card is a matchup between UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega.
Blaydes (14-3, 1 NC) is the No. 4 ranked heavyweight in the UFC. The 30-year-old American is coming off of a brutal KO loss to Derrick Lewis in his last fight that set him back in the UFC heavyweight title picture. Prior to that loss, Blaydes had won four straight fights and eight of nine overall. In his UFC career, Blaydes has wins over the likes of Alexander Volkov, Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, Mark Hunt, and Aleksei Oleinik. A win over Rozenstruik would keep Blaydes firmly entrenched in the top-five at 265lbs.
Rozenstruik (12-2) is the No. 6 ranked heavyweight in the UFC. The 33-year-old Suriname native is 6-2 overall in the UFC and in his last fight, he brutally knocked out Augusto Sakai at the bell for one of the biggest wins of his UFC career to date. Although Rozenstruik is just 2-2 overall in his last four fights, he has proven time and time again that he has thunder in his hands and is one of the top contenders in the UFC heavyweight division. If he’s able to go out there and beat Blaydes at UFC 266, he will immediately become one of the top contenders to fight for the UFC heavyweight title sometime in 2021.
Who do you think wins this heavyweight bout at UFC 266 between Curtis Blaydes and Jairzinho Rozenstruik?