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.
POW! POW! POW! 🥊✨ #RozenstruikvsGaziev #UFCVegas87 #JairzinhoRozenstruik #BigiBoy #Suriname pic.twitter.com/PD82BSuwJN
— Jairzinho 'BIGI BOY' Rozenstruik (@JairRozenstruik) March 2, 2024
In the main event of UFC Vegas 87, Jairzihno Rozenstruik and Shamil Gaziev faced each other at heavyweight. ‘Bigi Boy’ won by TKO.
Round 1: Gaziev tries to take the fight directly to the ground, but Rozenstruik defends the takedown. The Dagestani occupies the center of the cage, and tries to frame his opponent. Both athletes are looking for the hard blow. Shamil Gaziev pins the Surinamese against the cage in a clinch before validating a takedown from the single leg. In a dominant position on the ground, Ciryl Gane’s former training partner finished strong in front of Rozenstruik.
Round 2: ‘Bigi Boy’, cornered against the cage, tries to resist the opposing pressure. After taking a nice left, Shamil Gaziev once again decides to stick Jairzinho Rozenstruik against the fence of the octagon.
Round 3: Well off to a good start physically, Gaziev is less active unlike Rozenstruik. The Surinamese takes the opportunity to work in volume and hit the Dagestani with his jabs. ‘Bigi Boy’ sends a magnificent foot-fist combination that hits Shamil Gaziev.
Round 4: Outstripped, Gaziev attempts the takedown, but Jairzinho’s wrestling defense is effective. With a big combination, the Surinamese seriously hits the Dagestani. The latter does not fall and remains in the center of the cage. At the end of the round, ‘Bigi Boy’ accelerates and shakes his standing opponent.
The referee stops the fight after the end of the round, due to the lack of vision from Shamil Gaziev, and declares Jarzinho Rozenstrik victorious.
الحكم يقرر إيقاف القتال بنهاية الجولة بسبب انعدام الرؤية بسبب تورم العين من شامل غازييف، ويعلن جارزينهو روزنستريك الفائز بالمباراة. pic.twitter.com/Ggcx16LiBF
— mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) March 3, 2024
Before the 5th round, referee Marc Goddard decided to stop the fight under the advice of the doctor, Gaziev being badly injured in the eye. Thus, Jairzinho Rozentruik wins by TKO in the 4th round (5:00).
UFC Vegas 87 – Jairzinho Rozenstruik forces the referee to stop the fight and wins by TKO
تمكن Jairzinho Rozenstruik من إجبار الحكم على إيقاف القتال بفضل تنفيذه لضربة قاضية فنية (TKO)، وبالتالي فاز في المباراة. pic.twitter.com/32YphrJ27j
— mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) March 3, 2024
With this success, the Surinamese retains his 12th place in the UFC heavyweight rankings. He improves his record to 14-5 in MMA. For Shamil Gaziev (unclassified), the step was too high. The Dagestani suffers his first defeat in his professional career.
BIGI BOY IS BACK ‼️ #UFCVegas87 #JairzinhoRozenstruik #BigiBoy #Suriname pic.twitter.com/ikP2EmYbfU
— Jairzinho 'BIGI BOY' Rozenstruik (@JairRozenstruik) March 3, 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
