Jairzinho Rozenstruik won’t let Saturday’s setback discourage him.
The UFC heavyweight contender vows to come back stronger following his submission loss to rising prospect Jailton Almeida in the main event of UFC on ABC 4, which went down Saturday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., and aired on ABC and ESPN+.
Although Rozenstruik was able to initially defend Almeida’s attacks, the Surinamese fighter eventually caved in to Almeida’s ground prowess and ended up tapping out to a rear-naked choke at the end of Round 1.
“What’s up, guys. As you guys see, the fight didn’t go my way,” Rozenstruik said in a video posted on Twitter in reaction to the defeat. “I think one or two mistakes cost me the whole fight. I felt like I was doing everything right, so yeah. Anyway, I’ll be better. I’ll be back better and stronger, and I want to say thank you for supporting me.”
Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it's the courage to continue that counts. #BigiBoy #UFCCharlotte pic.twitter.com/ccnslYyEUK
— Jairzinho 'BIGI BOY' Rozenstruik (@JairRozenstruik) May 13, 2023
Rozenstruik (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) entered UFC on ABC on the heels of a Performance of the Night win against Chris Daukaus at UFC 282, where he ended the fight quickly in just 23 seconds. Unfortunately for “Bigi Boy,” he was unable to make it two wins in a row as Almeida’s ground game proved too much to handle. He’s now 1-3 in his past four outings.
On the other hand, Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) stretched his winning streak to 14 in a row. He has yet to taste defeat since January 2018. Almeida called out fan-favorite Tai Tuivasa after the fight and targeted a return around October.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 4.
