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A huge heavyweight fight between top contenders Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Curtis Blaydes has reportedly been added to the UFC 266 card. The hard-hitting heavyweight pair will cross paths inside the octagon on 25th September.
According to an initial report from MMA Fighting, verbal agreements have been confirmed for the fight to take place at UFC 266. The pay-per-view is also confirmed to be headlined by Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira. The Polish fighter will defend the UFC light heavyweight title for the second time against the veteran Brazilian.
The co-main event for UFC 266 is expected to be the fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. The duo were set to fight earlier in the year, but reigning featherweight champion Volkanovski was forced to withdraw due to a positive COVID-19 test.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Curtis Blaydes could edge one step closer to a future UFC heavyweight title shot
Jairzinho Rozenstruik recently bounced back from his loss to Ciryl Gane by beating Augusto Sakai in a huge heavyweight main event. 'Bigi Boy' finished the fight right at the buzzer and secured victory with just one second remaining on the clock in the first round of the fight.
Meanwhile, Curtis Blaydes will look to bounce back from a surprise KO loss he suffered to Derrick Lewis in his last fight. Heading into the contest, Blaydes was the heavy favorite to beat 'The Black Beast' but was caught with a brutal shot in the second round.
Rozenstruik is currently ranked No. 6 in the heavyweight rankings, whereas Blaydes sits at No. 4. A win for either man could potentially push them into the top three of the heavyweight rankings, depending on the upcoming Alexander Volkov vs. Ciryl Gane bout.
As things stand, Derrick Lewis is expected to get the next shot at the UFC heavyweight championship after the promotion couldn't agree to terms with Jon Jones. It remains to be seen what plans the UFC has in store for the former light heavyweight champion.
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