Though they may not have a personal relationship beyond exchanging pleasantries in passing, Rozenstruik is acutely aware of the challenge before him this weekend, even if “Cigano” has landed on the wrong side of the results in each of his last two trips into the UFC cage.
“Junior is still a dangerous opponent,” Rozenstruik said of his Brazilian foe, who has split a pair of bouts with current champ and UFC 252 headliner Stipe Miocic, and earned a stoppage win over Top 5 fixture Derrick Lewis prior to his recent slide. “He’s more of an all-around fighter and I’m prepared for that and I feel good about it. I’m ready to face him in the Octagon.”
Though Rozenstruik’s first two MMA fights came in 2012, he only truly committed himself to the sport in 2017 and it has been a non-stop series of training camps and fights since then.
His bout with Ngannou was his ninth fight in roughly 36 months, a pace few heavyweights can match and one even Donald Cerrone would tip his cowboy hat to, and up to that May engagement in Jacksonville, Florida, it had been smooth sailing for the developing knockout artist.
In the span of three years, he’s gone from neophyte to “Next Big Thing” in the UFC heavyweight division, and now that his unbeaten run has ended, Rozenstruik is focused on getting back into the win column and resuming his climb towards the top of the heavyweight division this weekend, while proving something to himself in the process.
“Junior is a difficult fighter; he moves a lot,” he said, offering his thoughts on how he gets his hand raised this weekend. “It might be the first round, it might be the second round; it just depends how the fight goes.
“But I have to set something straight with myself this fight,” he added. “I have to prove to myself that I belong here, so this is a victory I’m looking for and I’m going to go get it.”