UFC heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik got his wish.
Less than one week after knocking out Alistair Overeem at UFC Fight Night last Saturday in Washington, Rozenstruik (10-0) has agreed to meet Francis Ngannou (14-3) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on March 28 in Columbus, Ohio, sources told ESPN. Both sides have agreed to the matchup, sources said.
Rozenstruik, of Suriname, scored a historic knockout against Overeem, finishing him with a right hand at 4 minutes, 56 seconds of the final round. It was the latest stoppage in UFC heavyweight history and saved Rozenstruik from his first professional loss. At the time of the finish, Rozenstruik was down on all three judges’ scorecards.
Immediately after the bout, Rozenstruik called for a matchup against the “big, scary guy” Ngannou, who is riding a streak of three first-round finishes.
A former professional kickboxer, Rozenstruik made his UFC debut in February and has surged up the heavyweight rankings with four consecutive knockouts.
Originally from Cameroon and now fighting in Las Vegas, Ngannou has been asking for a fight for months. He made two appearances in 2019, in which he quickly knocked out two former champions in Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. He is a candidate for a title shot, but the UFC is looking into booking a trilogy title fight between current champion Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.
Ngannou has finished all 14 of his professional victories, including 10 via knockout.
The UFC Fight Night event will take place at Nationwide Arena. It will mark the promotion’s first visit to Columbus since March 2009.