In a battle of heavyweight contenders at UFC 249, Francis Ngannou only needed 20 seconds to knockout Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Two years ago, Jairzinho Rozenstruik was a little-known entity in the MMA world. An import from kickboxing, who had made a stopover in RIZIN on his way to the octagon. Francis Ngannou, meanwhile, was the feared power-puncher, who had come up well short in his quest for UFC gold.
What a difference just a couple of years can make. Heading into UFC 249, the pair were on the cusp of a title shot. Of course, in a heavyweight division virtually stuck in place, that might not mean a lot. But it still matters, ultimately.
A big performance would be necessary to really lock it down, however. Especially with Miocic vs. DC 3 looming.
Rozenstruik immediately opened up with some inside leg kicks. Rozenstruik threw a left hook and Ngannou opened up with a giant combination that put Rozenstruik out! Over in less than twenty seconds! What a knockout by Francis Ngannou. Ngannou came forward swinging wildly and he landed one of his winging hooks and it was all it took. The left hook put him down, and a couple of follow up strikes was all that was needed.
This is Francis Ngannou’s fourth straight knockout in under 90 seconds. The second Ngannou landed the left hook, the fight was over. This is Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s first loss of his career, after starting off 10-0. Ngannou is surely in line for a title shot next, however, everything is up in the air due to the heavyweight division’s uncertainty with Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. But regardless of the belt, Francis Ngannou looks like the heavyweight division’s scariest man.
Francis Ngannou def. Jarzinho Rozenstruik by KO (Left Hook) in Round 1 (0:20)
