The main event of Saturday's UFC Vegas 56 saw veterans Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a battle that took place in the middle of the UFC's heavyweight rankings. By now, you probably know that Volkov took home the win after a pretty quick first round knockout. I thought this fight was actually pretty interesting despite not having a long run time. I have a bit to say about the performances of both men and then we'll play our typical Monday matchmaker and try to see where each of them can go next. I mentioned it in my picks on Saturday and then in the update that went live yesterday afternoon that I am going on vacation this Wednesday. All of the posts for this week will be out as they normally would, but the following week there won't be anything until my picks for Kattar vs Emmett on Saturday. Let's get into this fight though.
We always start with the winner and that was Alexander Volkov this week. Volkov is as reliable of a fighter as the UFC has on their roster at this point. It really doesn't matter what kind of stretch he's on, he's going to provide the same caliber of performance basically every time out. I always feel so comfortable betting on Volkov fights, either for or against, because I pretty much know what I'm getting from him, both good and bad. Volkov looked good again this week after a couple of down performances. He didn't look particularly great against Marcin Tybura despite getting the win in that fight and he got overwhelmed by Tom Aspinall his last time out. This was a really nice return to form for him and I think he looked better physically as well. I liked that he came out a little more aggressive than we've seen from him. Because he's so long and has such a massive reach, he will almost always have the reach both with his arms and legs. I think this has caused him to fight a bit passively at times and just touch his opponents from range instead really sitting down on some punches and using the natural power that comes with being as big as he is. The more that I think about it, this is probably the best that he's looked in awhile. I liked his aggression and his willingness to strike with a little more intent in this one. I think if he is a little more willing to fight like this and look for a finish more proactively, it will help him move up the rankings higher than he has to this point.
Booking Volkov is a bit tough these days. His placement in the rankings seems to always be between 5 and 8, so there isn't really ever a new tier of opponent for him. Heavyweight also moves very slowly, which only exacerbates the problem. There's plenty of fights for him still, but most of them would be rematches. I always say that the UFC doesn't often make rematches that aren't for the belt, but we have seen it here and there recently. If they do, it is typically a fight that isn't that impactful for the division or a fight that was so long ago that people might not even remember it and both fighters are completely different athletes at this point. Kowalkiewicz vs Herrig is an example of the former, while Luque vs Belal Muhammad is an example of the latter. A lot of heavyweights are currently on the books already, so it may be a bit of a longer layoff for Volkov as he waits for the division to free up. The only fight that is both a fresh matchup that could be put together today would be Chris Daukaus. I don't necessarily hate that fight, but Daukaus has fought up in the rankings twice in a row and has looked overmatched both times. I don't think having him fight up again against Volkov is the best thing for his development as a fighter and I don't think that fight does much for Volkov either. I think the best thing for him would be to wait and let all of the heavyweight matchups play out. We have Blaydes/Aspinall, Tuivasa/Gane, and Lewis/Pavlovich on the books over the next few months and I think once those have been decided, he would have more options. The first place that I would look is the Lewis/Pavlovich fight. If Pavlovich were to get the win, that would introduce a new name into the upper tier of UFC heavyweights and Volkov has so often been used as that sort of measuring stick. If Lewis gets the win, I think it would be the perfect time to run that fight back. Lewis and Volkov would be in similar situations at that point and I think there is still some story left to tell. In their first fight, Volkov was winning for 14 minutes and 45 seconds until Lewis landed the monster shot that put Volkov out cold. Having that fight again would be a chance for each to prove that what happened wasn't a fluke. Lewis would prove that he is actually better if he got another knockout. Volkov would look to prove that what we saw for almost the entire fight was real and not the last few seconds. I think I talked myself into that being the fight for Volkov. Daukaus is still an option as is Pavlovich if he can pick up a win. If he really wanted to wait, the loser of Tuivasa and Gane would make some sense as well, especially if it is Tuivasa. I don't think anyone is particularly looking for a rematch with Gane, but there's worse fights to make at the same time. The Lewis rematch is the one that I would be most interested in seeing if he wins his fight next month.
When it comes to Jairzinho Rozenstruik, he's a guy that I've been a bit down on for awhile now. I don't think he gets the most of his abilities, but I think he showed signs of turning it around this time out despite losing in the first round. My concerns with his style really started with the Junior Dos Santos fight. Jairzinho is a pretty good kick boxer, especially for heavyweight, but he just doesn't use it especially effectively at times. He is a bit slow paced, which isn't out of the ordinary for heavyweight, but he would just be far too hesitant at times. He is such a good kick boxer that I think he almost trusted it too much. He was just so content to stand there and try to counter that he would find himself losing decisions where his opponent would just stand and jab him from range. He got taken down by Curtis Blaydes, but that is a very different fight than most at heavyweight. I thought Jairzinho would benefit significantly from just upping the aggression and being the one to go first and lead some of the fight. This would allow him to be fighting from ahead and force his opponent to try and catch up. That is when his countering ability would come into play. I don't think having your full game plan be based around countering is a very good one over the long haul. Of course there are fights where it will make sense when that specific opponent may be wildly aggressive, but in the grand scheme of things, most fighters are good enough to not just walk into knockout shots, especially at the tier that Rozenstruik is in. Even though he got knocked out, I like that Jairzinho came out and was on the front foot for some of the fight. I think a more aggressive version of Jairzinho is ultimately a good thing and it will allow him to use his power more effectively. Even though it didn't work against Volkov, I think he was able to stun him with one of those right hands. Going forward, I think the version of Rozenstruik that we saw is ultimately a more dangerous fighter than the overly patient version we had gotten for his previous handful of fights.
Rozenstruik has lost 3 of his last 4, so that is something that has to be considered when trying to pinpoint his next opponent. The one guy that seems to make the most sense is someone that I just mentioned, Chris Daukaus. I think this is a matchup that both guys would welcome. It gives them someone who is coming off of multiple losses and are at a similar tier in the rankings. Stylistically, it would also provide them with someone who is their relative equal and would allow them to fight to their strengths. Both would be looking for a standup fight and wouldn't offer the threat of a takedown. I think that matchup would be as excited as I would be to see Rozenstruik fight in awhile to be honest. If not that, there are other options for Rozenstruik. Sergei Pavlovich, should he lose to Derrick Lewis, wouldn't be a bad direction to go in. He would also offer a standup fight that would give Jairzinho a chance to get back on track. It is possible that the UFC decides to try and build someone off of his name and gives him someone like Alexandr Romanov. That would be an interesting fight as it would put one of the two in a very uncomfortable position. Romanov is a grappling heavy fighter who could take Jairzinho down and control him, but if Rozenstruik kept that fight standing, he would have Romanov in trouble. I'm certainly open to seeing it, but I think Daukaus is the clear direction to go for Rozenstruik.
This wasn't necessarily the most high profile main event I've ever seen and I wasn't ecstatic to see it, but it ended up being a pretty fun fight. We saw some growth from both fighters and I think that is always the goal. You want to see fighters growing, adjusting, and improving from fight to fight. Whenever someone is staying the same, that usually isn't a good sign, even if they're winning. Given the adjustments we saw from them in this fight, I'm actually excited to see both of them whenever they make their return. Neither is typically a fighter that I get pumped whenever they're on the schedule, but they delivered and have things to look forward to in the future. What did you guys think of the fight? What do you make of the performances? Who do you want to see them fight next? Leave your thoughts and comments below. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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