Consider it mission accomplished after Rozenstruik bounced back from his first professional defeat with a resounding TKO finish against Junior Dos Santos in a marquee heavyweight fight on Saturday night from Las Vegas. The official time of the stoppage came at 3:47 in round two as Rozenstruik earned his fifth knockout in the UFC.
“It feels great,” Rozenstruik said about his win. “I wanted to fight as soon as possible, as soon as I lost. I went back to the gym. We just got back at it. This is the result we were looking for. We need to set it straight.”
It was a chess game throughout the opening round with the heavyweights both being cautious of over extending and being made to pay for it. While Dos Santos was concentrating on his boxing, Rozenstruik countered with a nice inside kick to the legs.
Because Dos Santos was being selective with his strikes and staying fast on his feet, Rozenstruik didn’t have as many openings to unleash his best shots.
As time ticked away into the second round, Rozenstruik’s corner pleaded with him to let his hands go and the Suriname native was obviously listening.
Rather than waiting for Dos Santos to attack, Rozenstruik began stalking forward as he cut off the cage and closed the distance. That’s when Rozenstruik finally uncorked a fiery combination that saw him connect on Dos Santos’ jaw with several stiff punches.
As Dos Santos fell to the canvas, Rozenstruik seized on the opportunity as he unleashed a flurry of powerful shots that forced the referee to jump in to prevent the former heavyweight champion from absorbing further damage.
Considered one of the best prospects the heavyweight division has produced in recent years, Rozenstruik proved he’s no fluke by getting the knockout against Dos Santos just a few months after suffering a loss to Ngannou.
Now he moves forward in the division but rather than call anyone out afterwards, Rozenstruik says he will allow the UFC to pick his poison and he’ll be ready to sign the contract.
“No matter who I get,” Rozenstruik said, “I’m going to accept.”
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