A rising prospect and a former champion collide when the undefeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik meets Andrei Arlovski at UFC 244.
The UFC 244 card in New York City continues to grow, with former heavyweight champ and longtime fan favorite Andrei Arlovski being the latest addition. Newsday was first to report that Arlovski (28-18-2) will take on the undefeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik at the PPV event, which takes place in early November.
Arlovski recently got back in the win column with a unanimous decision victory over ‘Big’ Ben Rothwell at UFC on ESPN 4. That snapped a four-fight winless streak for the ‘Pitbull,’ which included losses to Augusto Sakai, Shamil Abdurakhimov, and Tai Tuivasa, and a No Contest following a bout with Walt Harris.
Showing an uncanny ability to defy father time, Arlovski has been able to reinvent himself as a fighter since returning to the UFC, and both the Tuivasa and Sakai fights could arguably have been judged in his favor.
Against Suriname’s Rozenstruik, Arlovski meets a dangerous up-and-comer who started his career in 2012, but did not return, and really get started, until a couple of years ago. After appearances in RIZIN and elsewhere, Rozenstruik caught the attention of the UFC, and has won two straight in the big show. Most recently, he scored a nine-second knockout of Allen Crowder.
All but one of Rozenstruik’s fights have ended in a finish, via KO/TKO.
UFC 244 will be headlined by an admittedly fun scrap between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal. The card has continued to take shape in recent days, with Stephen Thompson vs. Vicente Luque the latest addition. Airing on PPV, the event will go down November 2, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.
