UFC Fight Night is set to get going this weekend from UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday June 4 at 4 p.m ET on ESPN+. There is a six-bout main card highlighted by a heavyweight fight between Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Volkov (34-10, 22 KOs, three subs), ranked seventh among heavyweights in the UFC, is a tall striker that has had his ups and downs in UFC competition recently — going 4-4 over his past eight fights. He has some big wins in UFC including knockouts over Fabricio Werdum in 2018 and Alistair Overeem in February 2021. Volkov, however, has struggled when there was a clear step up in competition as shown by losses to top five heavyweights Derrick Lewis, Curtis Blaydes, Ciryl Gane and most recently a stoppage loss to fast-rising English heavyweight Tom Aspinall.
Rozenstruik (12-3, 11 KOs), ranked eighth, is the first UFC fighter to come from Suriname. He is a slightly compact (6-foot-2, 258 pounds) powerhouse that should provide an interesting contrast to the 6-foot-7 Volkov. He stormed into the UFC winning four straight and turned heads when he knocked out former champ Andrei Arlovski in 29 seconds at UFC 244 and then finished Overeem a month later with four seconds remaining in the fifth round. Rozenstruik, like Volkov, has struggled against top five competition. He was knocked out in 20 seconds by current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and suffered decision losses to top contenders Gane and Blaydes in the past 15 months.
How to watch Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Date: Saturday, June 4
Fight time: Main card starts at 4 p.m.
Live stream: ESPN+
DraftKings Sportsbook Odds/Predictions
Volkov: -160
Rozenstruik: +140
Moneyline splits: 66% of handle, 60% of bets on Volkov
This is going to be a fun battle of two strikers with contrasting styles. Volkov is going to try to keep Rozenstruik at range using his height and reach advantage. His job will be to keep Rozenstruik on the outside with his body kicks. If Rozenstruik can get inside there’s a very good chance he’ll be able to drop Volkov with head strikes. Rozenstruik will be looking for the big punch that can end the fight quickly, while Volkov wants to drag Rozenstruik into the late rounds and wear him down. I think Volkov will have some success with his plan, but midway through the second round Rozenstruik will get inside and land the big punch that ends the fight.
Prediction: Rozenstruik by KO
Winning Method splits
Volkov by KO/TKO/DQ (+275): 3.5% handle, 5.4% bets
Volkov by decision (+150): 15% handle, 45% bets
Volkov by submission (+1400): 0% handle, 3% bets
Jairzinho by KO/TKO/DQ (+200): 79% handle, 43% bets
Jairzinho by decision (+700): 1% handle, 3% bets
Jairzinho by submission (+3500): 0.76% handle, 0.62% bets
Draw (+5000): 0% handle, 0% bets
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