Even though Jairzinho Rozenstruik is a true heavyweight legend, he’s the biggest underdog in a main UFC event since Tai Tuivasa last summer. Are we going to see him lose the same way Tuivasa did? Or maybe “Bigi Boy” will stage an upset and put Jailton Almeida to sleep? To see what we think, just keep on reading!
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Jailton Almeida Odds
Moneyline Odds
Jairzinho Rozenstruik +350
Jailton Almeida -500
*Odds taken from Sports Odds Direct on Thursday, May 11, 2023.
When, Where, and How to Watch?
Place: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina
Date: Saturday, May 13, 2023
Time: ~10:00 PM ET
How to Watch: ABC/ESPN+
“Bigi Boy” is 13-4 in his professional career with 12 wins by knockout/technical knockout. Among his KO/TKO wins are those against such UFC legends as Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, and Augusto Sakai.
Rozenstruik obviously has fists of concrete, but the fact is that he’s not great in other aspects of MMA fighting. For instance, he’s not very good at dodging opponents’ strikes. He absorbs 3.23 significant strikes per minute, which is a lot when you’re fighting big heavyweights.
Further, he’s not great on the floor, although to be fair, he hasn’t had much chance to show his grappling skills. It’s just that most of his MMA fights were practically kickboxing matches. This time, however, it could be different. This Saturday, he’s fighting a real expert in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Almeida is 18-2 in his professional career with 11 wins by submission. That’s no surprise as he’s a great expert in grappling, carrying a black belt in BJJ. He looks capable of choking out literally any opponent. The best thing is that that’s not his only power.
He’s also great at avoiding getting hit, which is great when fighting big slow guys like Rozenstruik. In fact, since joining the UFC, Almeida has received only two significant strikes.
Almeida does, however, have a few weaknesses. First of all, he’s nowhere near as strong as Rozenstruik. The evidence of this is that a few years ago, he was fighting in the welterweight division. In fact, it was May 2022 when he fought his first heavyweight bout in the UFC.
