Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev UFC on ESPN+ 96 Odds, Time, and Prediction

Shamil Gaziev is the betting favorite in Saturday’s fight, the main reason being that he’s 12-0 in his professional career. But he still hasn’t fought such a tough guy as Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Bigi Boy is 13-5 in MMA and has a kickboxing record of 76-8-1.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev Odds

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When, Where, and How to Watch?

• Place: UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada
• Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024
• Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
• How to Watch: ESPN+

Can Jairzinho Rozenstruik Stage an Upset on Saturday?

Jairzinho Rozenstruik is one of the most powerful heavyweights on the planet. His granite fists can put anyone to sleep. That’s happened 12 times already, which makes his knockout-to-win ratio higher than 92%.

Not only has he been a real bulldozer in the UFC, but Bigi Boy also has a formidable record in kickboxing. That said, he’s got plenty of experience with fights like these.

He did get finished by Jailton Almeida by submission in his most recent fight, but that shouldn’t worry him much against Gaziev who’s more of a boxer. And that’s exactly the kind of opponent Biggi Boy likes. 

Rozenstruik is someone who’s got wins over such aggressive strikers as Chris Daukaus, Augusto Sakai, Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, and many others.

Shamil Gaziev Planning Another Dominant Performance

Fighting out of Bahrain, Shamil Gaziev was born and raised in Dagestan. However, unlike most other Dagestani fighters, wrestling isn’t his main weapon. Instead, he’s much more of a striker.

Now a 34-year-old, he was fighting as an amateur until 2020. He then fought in several Eastern European promotions before getting a chance to get to the big league in Dana White’s Contender Series last September.

He took that chance, beating his opponent by submission in the first round. Three months later, he made his UFC debut. And it was a debut to remember! He entered the fight in top gear, throwing everything he had at Martin Buday, who suffered a nasty cut in the first round but kept on fighting. It was clear from the start that Gaziev was going to win, but the fight lasted until the 56^th second in the second round when the referee stopped it.

For this TKO win, Gaziev was awarded the Performance of the Night bonus. More importantly, he was given the ticket to his first-ever main event.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev Prediction

You can be certain that Gaziev will put pressure on Bigi Boy from the very start. He’ll be the more aggressive fighter, the same as in his fight with Buday. But Rozenstruik isn’t Buday – he knows how to fight back, and if he lands some punches, it’s goodnight for Gaziev.

Pick: Jairzinho Rozenstruik