UFC Fight Night Volkov vs Rozenstruik Preview

Two heavyweights collide on June 4 in the next UFC fight night as Alexander Volkov takes on Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The event will be held at the UFC’s Apex Arena in Las Vegas, and both heavyweight fighters will see this as a must-win. Volkov has two wins in his last three appearances inside the Octagon, while Rozenstruik has two in five. Outside of the main event, fights will be taking place across the divisions, with Dan Ige fighting Movsar Evloev and Damon Jackson fighting Darrick Minner.

It’s not a star-studded card, but there are lots of interesting fights, and heavyweight main events are usually always worth watching. It’s especially important because of the position that Volkov and Rozenstruik both find themselves in. While neither is likely to be cut, losing the fight would mean a long road back to a potential title shot and slipping further down the rankings. Currently, Volkov is ranked seventh in the division, while Rozenstruik sits just below him in eighth.

Volkov is currently the favourite according to Betway, with odds of -158, but these could change in the lead up to the fight. At heavyweight, anything could happen, however, and Rozenstruik is no slouch. Here are the stats and predictions for this main event.

Fight Stats

Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik will fight for the first time in their career on June 4. Both men have been in the UFC for several years, with Volkov first fighting at UFC fight night 99. He initially racked up four straight wins in the division, including wins of Stefan Struve and Fabricio Werdum, before finally losing to Derrick Lewis in 2018. Since then, he’s had four wins in seven fights, beating Greg Hardy, Walt Harris, Alistair Overeem and Marcin Tybura. His losses were against Curtis Blaydes, Cyril Gane and Tom Aspinall. Overall, Alexander “Drago” Volkov has a record of 34 wins and 10 losses.

On the other hand, Rozenstruik first came to the UFC in 2019, beating Junior Albini, Allen Crowder, Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem before losing to Francis Ngannou. This was Rozenstruik’s first professional loss in MMA, and the only time he’s been knocked out. Since that loss against current champ Ngannou, “Bigi Boy” Rozenstruik has wins over Junior dos Santos and Augusto Sakai and two decision losses to Cyril Gane and Curtis Blaydes.

Fight Prediction

Volkov is the favourite coming into this fight, which is interesting considering Rozenstruik has the better record overall even if he has fewer fights. Both men have lost to the same opponents in Gane and Blaydes, with their performances going a similar way. They both also have a kickboxing-heavy approach, preferring to fight standing up rather than taking it to the ground. As a result, it’s very unlikely that we see any groundwork in this fight.

Before entering mixed martial arts, Rozenstruik was a professional kickboxer, previously holding the WLF super heavyweight championship. Volkov does have a bit more experience in the ground game and has previously pulled off submission wins outside the UFC. Therefore, if anyone does enter the clinch or attempt a takedown, it’s likely to be Volkov.

In terms of weight, height and reach, Volkov has the advantage. He’s a full five inches taller than Rozenstruik and two inches of additional reach. This will be telling during the fight, allowing him to land better at range, making Rozenstruik have to walk into his range to land anything. For this reason, it’s easy to see why Volkov is currently the favourite. He has more tools in his arsenal and a more effective frame to use them. While anything could happen in MMA, we’re predicting Volkov to win by unanimous decision here.