Rozenstruik Vs Sakai

Jairzinho “Bigi Boy” Rozenstruik (11-2) will once again be in the main event spotlight against the young and always dangerous Augusto Sakai (15-2-1) in a clash of heavyweight finishers on June 5th in the UFC Apex Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This is a fight setup for both heavyweights in terms of style winning out in this matchup. Rozenstruik wants to have a standup kickboxing fight with Sakai being the perfect dancing partner because he is willing to stand and bang as we have seen in his career. They have a combined total of 21 finishes with 26 wins giving the expectation this fight will more than likely end in a finish for either man.

However, do we expect Sakai to stand with the always dangerous knockout artist known as Rozenstruik? Expect him to implement a similar game plan to when he fought former UFC fighter Allistair Overeem. The fight didn’t go his way as “the reem” won the fight by TKO in the 5th round but Sakai was having success early until his cardio began to run on empty. He utilized the clinch and phone booth fighting to connect his power shots. Anticipate the same tactics against Rozenstruik, but whether his cardio has improved to implement that game plan for five full rounds remains to be seen. We have seen Rozenstruik weather the storm before and he has the record to prove he is capable of knocking you out in the 5th round. He did that against the man who recently defeated Sakai, Overeem.

Rozenstruik must be licking his chops to fight Sakai because he is a very different fighter from his previous two losses. Sakai isn’t an elusive striker like his previous opponent Ciryl Gane and he isn’t a once in a lifetime knockout artist like heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Rozenstruik’s usual style could work in his favor as he has power in his hands and has superb setups with his leg kicks. His leg kicks could be the difference in his fight depending how he deals with defending the clinch and fighting up close if Sakai choses to use the same scheme that brought him early success.

Yet, one thing is for certain, with both Bigi Boy and Sakai, the power will be evident in the very first round. Whether a round goes by will depend on how both men chose to attack from the opening bell.