Jairzinho Rozenstruik is looking to add another legend to his resume when he takes on Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC DC and Cageside Press has its picks set.
| Staff Writers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Payne (174-98) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Joe McDonagh (168-96) |  |  | |  | |  |
| Ryan Fortune (129-79) | | | | |  | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (163-109) | | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (159-108) | | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (161-111) | | |  | | | |
| Dan Doherty (157-115) | | | | | | |
| Paarth Pande (115-86) | | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (94-89) | | | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (0-0) | | | | | | |
Jairzinho Rozenstruik has ascended the heavyweight ranks quickly and has a great opportunity to make a name for himself in the main event of UFC DC against Alistair Overeem. He took the bout on short-notice after a 29-second stoppage against Andrei Arlovski. Overeem hasn’t fought since April, when he knocked out Aleksei Oleinik in the first round. Six of 10 writers picked Rozentruik.
The co-main event is a “strawweight” bout between Cynthia Calvillo and Marina Rodriguez. Calvillo missed weight and is on a two-fight win streak. Rodriguez is replacing Claudia Gadelha on short-notice and is 2-0-1 in the Octagon. Calvillo was favored by six of 10 writers.
Stefan Struve comes out of retirement to face Ben Rothwell. Struve submitted Marcos Rogerio de Lima in February then had a brief retirement after stopping a three-fight losing streak. Rothwell is 0-2 since returning from a USADA suspension in March. Cageside Press is split at five picks apiece.
Aspen Ladd returns to the cage after the first loss of her career to fight Yana Kunitskaya. Ladd fell to Germaine De Randamie in just 15 seconds last time out. Kunitskaya has won two straight after falling to Cyborg in her UFC debut. All but two writers picked Ladd.
Song Yadong takes on Cody Stamann in a battle of future bantamweight contenders. Stamann is a promising prospect with a 4-1 Octagon record while Yadong has stopped three of his first four UFC opponents. All but two writers picked Yadong.
Opening the UFC DC main card is a bantamweight scrap between Rob Font and Ricky Simon. Font has been with the promotion since 2014, going 6-3 over that span. Simon won his first three bouts in the Octagon before surprisingly falling to Urijah Faber in July. Six of 10 writers picked Font.
