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UFC heavyweight contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik is a Surinamese mixed martial artist.
Suriname, or officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. With a population of around 575,000 and an area smaller than the state of Wisconsin in the USA, it is the smallest sovereign state in South America. While MMA is still not as big in Suriname, football (soccer), basketball, and volleyball are the most played sports in the country.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik is the first Surinamese mixed martial artist to fight in the UFC. Born and raised in the capital city of Paramaribo, Rozenstruik started his combat sports training at a local kickboxing gym at 17 years of age. After being discovered by Dutch kickboxing coach Michael Babb, 'Bigi Boy' competed in the kickboxing circuit under the supervision of Surinamese-Dutch kickboxing legend Ivan Hyppolite.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik competed in kickboxing circuits around the world and holds a 76-8 record as a pro, with 64 knockouts to his credit. Having made his MMA debut back in 2012 in Russian promotion Draka, the 33-year-old signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC in 2019.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik's UFC career at a glance
Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) made his UFC debut against fellow South American heavyweight Junior Albini in February 2019. He won the fight via second-round TKO.
Known for his raw knockout power and finishing instincts, Jairzinho Rozenstruik has defeated former champions Junior Dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski by knockout in the UFC. However, the most notable win of his UFC career is the come-from-behind knockout win over Alistair Overeem at UFC on ESPN 7 in December 2019.
Bigi Boy also created the record for the second-fastest knockout in UFC heavyweight history when he finished Allen Crowder with a KO within nine seconds of their June 2019 bout.
Jairzonho Rozenstruik suffered the first loss of his professional MMA career at the hands of current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. He was defeated by knockout at UFC 249 in May 2020.
After bouncing back with a win over Junior Dos Santos, Rozenstruik lost the main event fight against surging Frenchman Ciryl Gane in February 2021. The loss cost Rozenstruik two spots in the official UFC rankings as he slid down to the No.6 spot from the previously occupied No.4 position.
However, Jairzinho Rozenstruik stopped No.9 ranked Augusto Sakai with a late first-round knockout at UFC Vegas 28 on June 5, 2021, to defend his position.
The most interesting thing about Rozenstruik, however, is his tendency/ability to finish fights at extreme ends of a round. While his wins over Alistair Overeem (4:56, RD 5) and Augusto Sakai (4:59, RD1) came within the closing seconds of the fight, Bigi Boy finished Andrei Arlovski (0:29, RD1) and Allen Crowder (0:09, RD1) within the first minute of the fight.
Is there any other UFC fighter who has multiple finishes like these? Do let us know in the comments!
