UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane Preview

On Saturday night we have some more heavyweight action to look forward to. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-1) is set to take on Ciryl Gane (7-0) in the main event at UFC Vegas 20 at the UFC Apex, Las Vegas. The card can be seen on BT Sports and streamed on ESPN+.

Derek Lewis jumped up to #2 in the rankings after his victory over Curtis Blaydes last Saturday night at UFC Vegas 19. Whoever wins this main event, either Rozenstruik or Gane, they could be the likely next opponent for ”The Black Beast”. I would consider that very good scheduling by the UFC as a way to build hype around this potential future matchup.

The winner of this fight needs to get on the mic and call Lewis out there and then. This fight between the 265lbs warriors this weekend is going to be a fascinating stand up battle. Gane, who is undefeated, will bring confidence into this fight after his demolition of Junior dos Santos in his last outing.

Rozenstruik has been defeated only once in his professional career. That brutal knockout loss was by the hands of #1 contender Francis N’Gannou. Jairzinho responded from that loss with a knockout of his own when he beat Junior dos Santos in round two. That result is something both fighter have in common.

It’s hard to call this fight. As I said before, I expect this fight to mainly play out on the feet. It only takes one shot in the heavyweight division and neither of these guys hold back on throwing big shots. I reckon Gane is the quicker, more technical fighter but I would give the power advantage to Rozenstruik. Overall this is a well matched fight and one that I am looking forward to seeing unfold.

In the co-main event, Magomed Ankalaev (14-1) will go toe-to-toe with somebody not called Ion Cutelaba for the first time in a year. The Russian takes on Nikita Krylov, who fights out of Ukraine, in the light-heavyweight divison. Ankalaev knocked out Cutelaba last time out. Krylov (27-7) was victorious over Johnny Walker by unanimous decision in his last bout.

A fight that has been rescheduled, and one that I am pumped for is a scrap between Pedro Munhoz (18-5) and Jimmie Rivera (23-4) in the 135-pound division. It will be the second time both fighters have shared the cage with each other. Rivera walked away the winner in their first encounter way back in 2015. Rivera beat Cody Stamann in his previous fight, Munhoz is trying to get back into the win column after his defeat to Frankie Edgar last year.

Montana De La Rosa (11-6) and Mayra Bueno Silva (7-1) will square off in the women’s flyweight division. Angela Hill returns at short notice to take on Ashley Yoder, that fight takes place in the strawweight division. A featherweight fight between Alex Caceres (17-2) and Kevin Croom (21-12) will round off the six fight main card.

Alexander Hernandez (12-3) will face off against Thiago Moisés (14-4) in the prelims headliner. Hernandez looked impressive when he knocked out Chris Gruetzemacher in his last fight. Moisés has looked really good in his recent wins over Michael Johnson and Bobby Green.

Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira (22-9) welcomes the undefeated Ramazan Kuramagomedov (8-0) into the UFC’s welterweight ranks. Alexis Davis (19-10) will take on Sabina Mazo (9-1) in the women’s 125-pound division. Alonzo Menifield (9-2) steps in to take on William Knight (9-1) in the light heavyweight division.

Ronnie Lawrence (6-1) will make his UFC debut in the bantamweight division, he faces off against Vince Cachero (7-3) who is searching for his first UFC victory. A light heavyweight bout between Dustin Jacoby (13-5) and Maxim Grishin (31-8-2) will get things kicked off on a solid card from top to bottom.

Main Card (BT Sports/ESPN+, 8pm ET)

Heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Ciryl Gane
Light Heavyweight Nikita Krylov vs. Magomed Ankalaev
Women’s Flyweight Montana De La Rosa vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
Bantamweight Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera
Women’s Strawweight Angela Hill vs. Ashley Yoder
Featherweight Alex Caceres vs. Kevin Croom

Preliminary card (BT Sports/ESPN+, 5pm ET)

Lightweight Thiago Moises vs. Alexander Hernandez
Welterweight Alex Oliveira vs. Ramazan Kuramagomedov
Women’s Bantamweight Sabina Mazo vs. Alexis Davis
Light Heavyweight William Knight vs. Alonzo Menifield
Bantamweight Vince Cachero vs. Ronnie Lawrence
Light Heavyweight Dustin Jacoby vs. Maxim Grishin