Jairzinho Rozenstruik got back in the win column after Shamil Gaziev complained that he couldn’t see out of one of his eyes, which forced referee Marc Goddard to stop the fight and put an end to the UFC Vegas 87 main event.
While it probably wasn’t the emphatic finish he wanted, Rozenstruik was in complete control when the stoppage happened after the battered Gaziev with jabs throughout the fight. By the time the fourth round ended, Gaziev was struggling to do much of anything besides eat punches and he went to his corner where he revealed the problems with his vision.
Realizing that something was wrong, Goddard demanded that Gaziev’s corner tell him what was said and once he learned that the second-time UFC fighter couldn’t see, he immediately stopped the fight. Rozenstruik got the win as he moved to 2-1 in his past three appearances in the UFCandgt;
“It was amazing,” Rozenstruik said about his performance. “The time that I had to work on a lot of things. You see my work. I didn’t rush to knock him out. I took some real time working on myself. This was a piece of it. My corner gave me the right instruction, stick to the jab, keep moving forward. Eventually, he gave up.
“I’d love to come back like July or August. Anybody that’s out there, come and get it.”
There was a lack of any real action through the first few rounds with Gaziev committed to the takedown and Rozenstruik countering with a slick lead jab and trying to stay away from the wrestling attacks. Gaziev did a good job closing the distance and pushing Rozenstruik against the cage but he struggled to drag the fight to the canvas despite numerous attempts.
In return, Rozenstruik just kept sticking the jab in Gaziev’s face that had the Russian’s face transformed into a bloody mess from the repeated shots to his nose. Rozenstruik was smart not to overcommit to his strikes as he just kept peppering away with straight punches and Gaziev seemingly had no answer.
By the time the fight faded into the latter rounds, Gaziev was labored in his movements and Rozenstruik looked like the much fresher fighter. Even with a desperate burst to grab another takedown, Rozenstruik shrugged Gaziev off before resetting in the center of the cage.
That finally led to Rozenstruik marching forward and unloading huge, heavy punches with Gaziev stuck on his backfoot with his gas tank running low. Rozenstruik didn’t go guns blazing because he obviously still had to be wary of the takedown but he just kept sticking his jab in Gaziev’s face and he wasn’t getting much resistance in return.
Once Gaziev went to his corner with his mouth gaped open and legs barely underneath him, he told his coaches that he was struggling to see out of one eye. That led to the fiery exchange with Goddard as he demanded to know what was happening as he brought in the ringside physician to examine the heavyweight fighter.
Once Goddard discovered that Gaziev was struggling with his vision he stopped the fight and Rozenstruik began his celebration.
A few years ago, Rozenstruik appeared like a future contender in the heavyweight division but he’s struggled to maintain any kind of momentum as he bounced back and forth between wins and losses. With this latest victory, Rozenstruik will attempt to turn things around as he moves forward for the rest of 2024.
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