UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik Preview, Odds, Prediction

The UFC 207 features the bout between Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, two heavyweights who were once in the mix for becoming the title challengers but eventually lost that status. They want to get back to the very top of the division, but in order to do so, winning here is an absolute must. Both guys are coming off a loss, and to be honest, they are fighting to stay among the top heavyweights and for their future in the division. Their paychecks will be significantly thinner in case of a failure.

Preview

Alexander Volkov (-165) is the No.7 in the division right now. The former Bellator champion came to the UFC with the status of a promising prospect, but as time went by, he didn’t evolve into the fighter everyone believed he would be.

After beating Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem, both via TKO, he faced Ciryl Game in what was a title eliminator and lost that one pretty confidently after a unanimous decision. His next rival was Marcin Tybura, whom Volkov defeated, but in the most recent clash, on March 19, the Russian lost to Tom Aspinall.

He is a very good kickboxer, mixing his legs and arms to hurt his rivals very well. Drago, as the fans call him, has a very long reach which is a big plus for this massive guy. However, the problem for him is that he isn’t very quick in the octagon, especially on the ground where he doesn’t have some rich skillset. As we already saw in the past, Volkov likes to keep his business in stand-up.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik (+130) started his career with 10 wins and without a single loss, but after that had three defeats in five events. Yet, we need to say that the rivals were the best of the best in the division. After suffering a devastating KO against Ngannou, Bigi Boy beat Junior dos Santos, before losing to Gane.

In less than three months, Rozenstruik bounced back, defeating Augusto Sakai via KO in the opening round, which was the performance of the night. The organization set up a battle with Curtis Blaydes, which Bigi Boy lost via unanimous decision.

In 12 wins Rozenstruik posted,11 came via KO. Punching is his biggest weapon, and we saw that against Overeem, against whom he suffered a hard beating until knocking out the Demolition Man with one wild punch. As with Volkov, he isn’t very good on the mat, and wrestling, grappling and other non-stand-up areas of the battle aren’t suitable for this guy.

Prediction

We are giving the edge here to Volkov solely due to his reach and the fact that he has a bit better cardio than Rozenstruik. The Russian will keep the rival in the distance with his jab and leg checks, and we think that he might win this one via decision. Volkov is a solid tactician and knows when to attack and when to stop. That is something we can’t say for Rozenstruik. All in all, betting on Drago’s victory here would be the best choice, in our opinion.

Pick: Volkov wins