Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Zhailton Almeida fight prediction

In mid-May, the UFC will travel to North Carolina for UFCFight Night 224 (on ABC 4), which will be led by top heavyweights Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Zhailton Almeida. Such a clash of a new generation of strands, with the already held, if applicable to the career of the Surinamese.

For the Brazilian, this match is a great opportunity to jump several steps in the rankings and enter the top ten, so on May 14, the future of the guys in the division's elite will be at stake. Are Rozenstruik's kicker skills enough to stop the South American finish car?

• Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Zhailton Almeida;
• Jairzinho Rozenstruik;
• Zhailton Almeida;
• Comparative analysis;
• Game Totals Prediction.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Zhailton Almeida

Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Suriname's "Big Boy" has over 80 kickboxing fights under his belt, with a number of prestigious titles earned from WLF, Superkombat WGP tournaments and similar events. At the moment, he is located on the 9th line of the UFC heavyweight rating. At the start of his career in the major leagues, Jairzinho looked intimidating, not only tearing the lips of horsemeat lovers, but also scattering crystal from Orlovsky’s jaw on canvas in just 29 seconds. It was only after a short air therapy from the Ngannou mills that Rozenstruik's affairs began to decline.

Strengths

The main advantage of Rozenstruik is a good technical arsenal and the ability to enter striking positions, while maintaining knockout power, throughout the entire distance of the battle. He charges heavily and quickly with his feet, strikes at angles that are not put in ordinary halls, and besides, he quickly joins the fight, thanks to which he has collected a rich collection of early finishes.

Weaknesses

Since 2019, as soon as Jairzinho entered the UFC, he has made zero progress in terms of wrestling skills. The almost complete lack of understanding of working from the back is slightly covered by a good defense against takedowns and tricks, but, neither in positional wrestling, nor even more so in grappling and BJJ, he did not succeed at all. In addition, which is not normal for a kickboxer with such experience, "Big Boy" has serious problems with low-down arms and reaction - he misses too much.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

35 years old - we did not notice how Jairzinho turned from a promising heavyweight into a mature gatekeeper, with a very vague future in the major leagues. Three defeats in five fights, moreover, in clashes with those who could become his ticket to the TOP-5: Alexander Volkov, Curtis Blaydes and Cyril Gan, made it clear that he would not break into the number of privileged heavyweight fighters. Slow-moving Augusto Sakai and MMA cop Chris Dokas, he was able to delay, but the lack of progress and a broken jaw are unlikely to help Rozenstruik reboot and start winning consistently.

Zhailton Almeida

The fighter, nicknamed "Malhadinho", that is, "muscular", occupies the 12th line of the rating. This is a unique athlete competing in 4 different weight categories (from 77 to 93+ kg), having excellent boxing skills and a black belt in BJJ. Zhailton was a champion in two regional leagues, won the Dana White Contender's Series victory, and at this stage of his professional career, he has not lost for the 5th year in a row.

Strengths

Almeida is not one of those who likes to experiment. In the stand, he only hits the head, rarely switching to other floors, and tends to dismantle the opposition on the zero floor, where he is most good. As soon as the Brazilian climbs on the opponent, his sizzling ground and pound, followed by rear choke (the crown of the fighter), leaves no chance for maneuvers for the opponent's retaliatory attacks. By the way, all 18 victories in Zhailton's career are early.

Weaknesses

To match his fellow jitters, Almeida does not have a good takedown defense, and so far, only near-top athletes have tested him on his hands. The Brazilian acts openly and boldly, but in any case, this will expose his weak points as soon as he encounters a more experienced counterpart.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Zhailton is 31 years old and now has a winning streak of 13 wins, as mentioned above - all early. In the track record of "Muscular", there are already such names as Shamil Abdurahimov, Parker Porter, Anton Turkazh and Danilo Marquez. Despite his impressive form and growth rate, it is the upcoming fight that will be decisive for Almeida. So, once he was already knocked out in 16 seconds, which plays into the hands of Rozenstruik. But, there is no reason to doubt the physical condition and motivation of this athlete.

Comparative analysis

In this pair, Zhailton looks more interesting in terms of anthropometry - 5 cm in height and only 2 cm in arm span are complemented by his weight. The fact is that a 105-106 kg Brazilian looks many times better than a 118 kg Surinamese (especially in terms of effective muscle mass), therefore, in terms of mobility and speed, he will definitely outstrip the Big Boy. On the stand, Jairzinho should be given preference, after all, the years spent in the ring and the passion for quick knockouts should outweigh what Almeida is betting on, working on his hands, punching predictably on the head, and nothing more.

But in the stalls, the situation is reversed - here, in each of the aspects, the representative of South America looks better. However, the Suriname fighter stops 3/4 of his takedowns, so before getting close to him and knocking him down, Zhailton will have to be careful not to run into a counterattack. In fact, we can see how a knockout at the hands of Rozenstruik KO 3.66, and the finish on the ground performed by Almeida Submission 1.26, and here only one thing is clear - 5 rounds of 5 minutes for them is too much. The chances of winning, of course, are higher for a younger and not broken Brazilian, but an experienced striker cannot be written off.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Zhailton Almeida Prediction

Throughout his career, Jairzinho only three times reached a referee's decision in his fights (2 times in lost matches), and Zhailton - once, also when he lost to an opponent. In all other cases, both sent the opposition to Morpheus for consultation, by any means available. That is why, in the clash of such dangerous finishers, choosing a specific victor is a big risk.

In this case, bets on total rounds will be ideal, and it will be difficult to make a mistake choosing even the Under (1.5) option by rounds, not to mention the Under (2.5) and 4.5 positions. Also, you can consider any options for early completion of the meeting by any of the fighters. And only in the last place, I would determine the favorite as the winner - Almeida, who is able to win Rozenstruik due to the high level of the ground floor. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: Under (1.5) in rounds and above / Zhailton Almeida win