Rozenstruik back on the winning path

Jairzinho Rozenstruik is back on the winning path in the UFC after he claimed a TKO win over rising heavyweight prospect Shamil Gaziev in the main event of a Fight Night held at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 3 March 2024.

Rozenstruik had lost three of his last four matches coming into this clash, but used veteran nous and composure to gradually pick apart Gaziev, who was headlining in just his second UFC fight.

Gaziev was the bigger, more aggressive fighter through the early stages, but Rozenstruik gradually turned the tide with his takedown defence and crisp striking.

So much so that the fight was called off before the start of the fifth round as Gaziev’s corner revealed that their man could not see out of one eye. Referee Marc Goddard awarded a TKO (retirement) victory to ‘Bigi Boy’.

'RECALIBRATE'

“Stick to the jab and keep moving forward," Rozenstruik said in his post-fight interview. "The longer the fight went on, I saw I started to hurt him. Eventually, he gave up.

“I'm going to take a step back and recalibrate... I'd like to come back in July or August. Anyone who wants to get it, come and get it.”

The rest of the main card saw Vitor Petrino outpoint Tyson Pedro in the light heavyweight main event; Muhammad Mokaev did the same to Alex Perez in the flyweight division; Umar Nurmagomedov had a dominant unanimous decision win over Bekzat Almakhan in a bantamweight bout; and Steve Erceg knocked out Matt Schnell in the second round of their flyweight opener.

Next week brings UFC 299 from the Kaseya Centre in Miami, Flordia, on the morning of Sunday 10 March 2024, headlined by ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley making the first defence of his bantamweight world championship when he faces old foe Marlon Vera.

UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik v Gaziev – Main card results

- Main event: Heavyweight: Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Shamil Gaziev via TKO (retirement), R4, 5:00

- Light heavyweight: Vitor Petrino def. Tyson Pedro via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Flyweight: Muhammad Mokaev def. Alex Perez via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Bantamweight: Umar Nurmagomedov def. Bekzat Almakhan via unanimous decision (30-25 30-26 30-26), R3, 5:00

- Flyweight: Steve Erceg def. Matt Schnell via KO (punch), R2, 0:26