Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Jailton Almeida were previously scheduled to fight in the co-main event of UFC on ABC 4 when the UFC decided to promote their three-round heavyweight bout to the five-round main event spot and downgrade the previous headliner to a three-round co-main event. Seen as an emergent force in the heavyweight class, Jailton Almeida will look to stop a top-ten-ranked fighter to cement the hype around him. Getting the scalp of “Bigi Boy” Rozenstruik, who is 2-2 in his last four, will be the perfect opportunity.
MMA: UFC Heavyweight
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Where to watch: ABC / ESPN+
Date: 14.5.2023, 06:00
Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Named after the Brazilian football star Jairzinho, Rozenstruik played football and basketball before transitioning to kickboxing in his late teens. In 2012, he became a professional mixed martial artist. “Bigi Boy” debuted in the UFC in 2019 and currently holds the record for second fastest knockout in the heavyweight division against Allen Crowder. The last few years have seen Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s resume blotted by several defeats. A closer look shows that he has lost to some of the best heavyweights in the division: Francis Ngannou, Curtis Blaydes, Alexander Volkov, and Ciryl Gane. The knockout specialist rebounded from a loss in the year to KO Chris Daukaus in his last fight in December. The 35-year-old has twelve knockouts from his thirteen victories.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 35
- Height: 6’ 2”
- Reach: 78”
- Record: 13-4
Jailton Almeida
Jailton Almeida, 31, has made a strong start to his UFC career. The Brazilian began his career in the Brazilian regional circuit before being invited to face Nasrudin Nasrudinov in Dana White’s Contender Series 39. Almeida won the bout via submission and was awarded a UFC contract. On his debut against Danilo Marques, Almeida won the fight via a TKO in the first round. Almeida’s third fight was against Maxim Grishin, but Grishin withdrew due to undisclosed reasons, so Almeida moved up to the heavyweight division and faced Parker Porter. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke in round one. Almeida has continued to dominate his opponents and won the Performance of the Night award after his victory over Anton Turkalj at a catchweight of 220 pounds. His latest win was a TKO in the second round against Shamil Abdurakhimov in January 2023. He is currently number twelve in the heavyweight rankings.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 31
- Height: 6’ 3”
- Reach: 79”
- Record: 18-2
Betting Odds
Almeida is the massive favorite with the bookies. His price of 1.18 odds on Bet 365 holds no value. On the other hand, a bet for Jairzinho Rozenstruik is valued at 5.00 odds on Bet 365. Over 1.5 is valued at 2.48 odds on 1xbet, while 1.5 odds is the price of the under. Fight to go the distance is priced at 7.00 odds on Coinplay.