UFC on ABC 4 Preview (Rozenstruick vs. Almeida)
The UFC will be invading the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina for UFC on ABC 4. The main event will be a high stakes fight in the heavyweight division between long-running contender Jairzinho Rozenstruick and rising prospect Jailton Almeida.
Rozenstruick rebounded from a two fight losing streak in his last fight with a first round KO of Chris Daukuas in December. The 35-year-old entered 2020 as an undefeated fighter in the UFC, but since then he has gone 3-4. However, he is one big win away from getting back in the title conversation at heavyweight. Almeida represents the victory Rozenstruick needs to remind everyone of the title threat he was back in 2020.
The Surinamese fighter stated that he expected a higher fight in the rankings but the UFC thought Almeida was the next best fight for him. “First of all, we didn’t want to do the fight.” Rozenstruik said of his thoughts on the fight.
“Cause me and my team discussed right away, we come off a good win, we want to fight someone higher in the rankings. And the UFC really wanted the fight, so the fights happening.” Jairzinho expressed that he wasn’t shying away from a fight with Almeida specifically, and he that didn’t feel like the UFC owed him anything for fighting a lower ranked opponent and added, “It’s not like I’m doing the company a favor but that’s how it is. You’re looking forward in life, right? You want to go forward.”
Despite what Rozenstruick wanted, he is ready to use a victory on Saturday to move forward in the rankings. “So, I see this as the bigger picture: win this fight, get me ready and then go forward with a higher ranked opponent.”
While he is looking forward, Rozenstruick is well aware of the dangers that Almeida brings to the cage on Saturday. “I definitely think there’s going to be a size difference- Maybe not. Because maybe he cuts a lot of weight to go to light heavyweight.” Rozenstruik said.
Rozenstruick has key wins over Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem and Andre Arlovski. If he wants to make one more run at a title shot, it starts with a win in Charlotte over Almeida.
Almeida has not lost since 2018 and is 4-0 in the UFC. He most recently defeated Shamil Abdurakhimov by second round TKO in January at UFC 283. Rozenstruick represents the biggest challenge of his career thus far.
The Brazlilian fighter learned a valuable lesson after his first loss and is on a new path. "In 2018, after my last loss, it kind of clicked," Almeida said. "I realized changes had to be made in my game, and I think we've been able to perfect it. The grappling was always about control with some ground-and-pound and looking for submissions. I've watched a lot of the Dagestani wrestlers like Khabib [Nurmagomedov], [Islam] Makhachev and [Khamzat] Chimaev. They have a style that appeals a lot to me.
"I'm always watching them and trying to learn from them. I've been able to incorporate some of the things that they do, which we don't generally do in Brazil, into my game. As I've gotten comfortable with them, we've begun to see results.”
The 31-year-old is ready to prove himself in his first main event. "It's great to get the spotlight from a fight with such a big audience and spotlight on it, but I still have to perform," he said. "They put you in position but it's up to the fighter to take advantage. I have my plan and I know my job and I'm going to go out and execute it.”
Almeida talked about what type of fight he is expecting against Rozenstruick. “I don’t think there’s any pressure,” Almeida said. “I’m always ready for the full length of the fight. For this one, I’ve trained everything for five rounds. I guess the style is just more effective than most.
“We are very finish oriented, so that’s what we’re always looking for. Doesn’t matter if it’s the first round, the fifth round, whenever I get a chance to do it. No added pressure, something that I just go with the flow.”
A win on Saturday will put Almeida’s name in the title conversation. While he stands at 6’3, Almeida represents a smaller type of heavyweight typically fighting around 225 pounds, not to mention he is in the prime of his career at only 31 years old. He is a threat on the feet and on the ground so with a win on Saturday he could shake things up in the top five of the heavyweight division.
The rest of the main card:
Light Heavyweight - #5 Anthony Smith vs. #7 Johnny walker
Welterweight - Daniel Rodriguez vs. Ian Garry
Light Heavyweight - Carlos Ulberg vs. Ihor Potieria
Welterweight - Alex Morono vs. Tim Means
ESPN + Prelims:
Welterweight - Matt Brown vs. Court McGee
Heavyweight - Karl Williams vs. Chase Sherman
Bantamweight - Cody Stamann vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
Women’s FLyweight - Kim Ji-Yeon vs. Many Bohm
Welterweight - Bryan Battle vs. Gabriel Green
Women’s Bantamweight - Jessica - Rose Clark vs. Tainara Lisboa
