UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik predictions

After a week away from our screens, the UFC returns to action with their latest Fight Night card from the Las Vegas Apex this upcoming Saturday.

UFC Fight Night: Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik features a big heavyweight headline bout and plenty of other exciting clashes up and down the card.

Will any title pictures be affected on Saturday? Perhaps not, but given the amount of action these fights can produce, this show should be worth checking out.

Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

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#1. UFC heavyweight division: Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Can Jairzinho Rozenstruik knock out Alexander Volkov this weekend?

While both Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik remain entrenched in the top ten at heavyweight right now, they are also coming off a loss, making this bout a truly pivotal one for them.

Sure, neither man is likely to be cut by the UFC for a loss here, but the loser will certainly not find himself in title contention again anytime soon. At the same time, the winner could be elevated into another big fight in the future.

On paper, at least, this promises to be a clash of strikers. Volkov and Rozenstruik have 14 victories in the octagon between them, and just four of those wins have gone the distance. Interestingly, they all came from ‘Drago’, as Rozenstruik has only ever lost when his fights have reached the final buzzer.

Does that mean ‘Bigi Boy’ is less of a threat as the fight goes on? In truth, that’s not the case. It’s arguable that his biggest ever career win came over Alistair Overeem in late 2019 – and that victory came in the dying seconds of the fifth round.

However, it's probably safe to say that the native of Suriname is perhaps less rounded than his opponent this weekend. Rozenstruik is a concussive striker with pinpoint, accurate shots, but when he’s been put on his back, he’s looked very much like a fish out of water.

On the other hand, Volkov is somewhat more comfortable going to the ground. His top control is pretty solid, he’s got decent enough takedowns if he wants to use them, and while he didn’t look great on his back against Tom Aspinall, it isn’t like ‘Bigi Boy’ will look to replicate that gameplan.

This fight is still likely to take place on the feet despite ‘Drago’ seemingly having a path to win on the ground. In that case, it’s probably wiser to favor Rozenstruik to come out on top.

Volkov does have his usual reach advantage, but it’ll only give him 2” in this bout, and the fact is that ‘Bigi Boy’ is the more explosive and sharper striker, and he hits harder, too. Volkov has only been stopped by strikes once in the UFC – against Derrick Lewis – but he has been dropped on numerous occasions, and if Rozenstruik lands on him like that, he’s likely to put him away.

Perhaps the closest comparison to this fight – albeit a crude one – would be Mark Hunt’s 2013 meeting with Stefan Struve, and so the pick is ‘Bigi Boy’ via KO.

The Pick: Rozenstruik via second-round KO

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#2. UFC featherweight division: Dan Ige vs. Movsar Evloev

Can Movsar Evloev break into the top ten at 145lbs with a win over Dan Ige?

Judging by recent results, this featherweight bout is a strange piece of booking from the UFC. Dan Ige has lost his last two fights and is 1-3 in his last four, his last win coming over Gavin Tucker in March 2021.

Evloev, on the other hand, is still unbeaten in the octagon at 5-0 and could well prove to be a genuine threat to the upper echelon at 145lbs. However, despite the disparity in recent records, the bout does make perfect sense.

Ige is still ranked at No.10 in the division, and while ‘Dynamite’ is clearly a step below title contention, he could well be seen as one of the best gatekeepers at 145lbs. If Evloev can overcome him, then it’s a clear sign that he’s ready for title contention in his own right.

Interestingly, this will be the first time Ige’s had to deal with more of a grappling-based foe in some time. The Hawaiian has been a consistent action fighter, and so unsurprisingly, he’s nearly always been matched with fellow strikers like Edson Barboza and the Korean Zombie.

Evloev, on the other hand, has decent striking in his arsenal, but he also leans heavily on his takedowns and ground control. His win over Hakeem Dawodu, for instance, drew the ire of the crowd but saw him completely dominate the flashy striker by continually planting him on the mat.

Evloev’s takedowns aren’t perfect, as the statistics show that he only lands them at a 47% accuracy. However, if he can put Ige down, then it definitely feels a little unlikely that the Hawaiian will be able to get back up to his feet.

Add in the fact that, while he is a dangerous and explosive striker, ‘Dynamite’ doesn’t live up to his nickname when it comes to knockout power – only one of his UFC wins has come via KO, his stoppage of Tucker – and it seems unlikely that he’ll get Evloev out in an early rush.

With that considered, then, the pick here is Evloev via decision. It might not be all that entertaining, but expect the Russian to crack the UFC’s featherweight top ten next week.

The Pick: Evloev via unanimous decision

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#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card

Veterans Felice Herrig and Karolina Kowalkiewicz rematch on this weekend's main card

In a featherweight bout, Michael Trizano faces Lucas Almeida. The winner of TUF 27, Trizano hasn’t lit it up in the UFC too much after his 2018 debut, as he’s only won two more fights since. However, he’s a hard-nosed fighter with decent skills in all areas.

In that sense, this one should come down to how good Almeida is. He’s put together a record of 13-1 on the Brazilian regional scene. Still, as we’ve seen numerous times before, finishing overmatched opponents in Brazil often doesn’t prepare a fighter for the tougher wrestlers they’ll face in the big show.

The pick: Trizano via decision.

At flyweight, Poliana Botelho takes on Karine Silva. Given that she’s 3-3 in the octagon, this could be the last chance saloon for Botelho, while Silva is making her UFC debut with a record of 14-4.

In many ways, this fight mirrors Trizano vs. Almeida. Still, while Botelho possesses more octagon experience than Silva, she doesn’t have that hard-nosed wrestling background that tends to test Brazilian prospects. Given that ‘Killer’ looks like a finisher – none of her 14 wins have gone the distance – she seems capable of winning here, probably via submission.

The pick: Silva via submission.

In a light-heavyweight clash, Alonzo Menifield battles Askar Mozharov. This fight promises to be a wild one. Menifield is a heavy swinging puncher who either knocks his opponents out or tends to gas out, while debutant Mozharov is 21-8 with just two of those fights going the distance.

This could definitely go either way, but Menifield has better experience at the top level, so the pick is ‘Atomic’ in a fight that isn’t likely to go the distance.

The pick: Menifield via KO/TKO.

Finally, strawweight veterans Felice Herrig and Karolina Kowalkiewicz face off in a rematch of their 2018 encounter. This could well be the end of the road for either or both of them, as Herrig is 37 years old, Kowalkiewicz is 36, and neither woman has won in years, with Herrig’s losing streak dating back to 2017 and Kowalkiewicz’s back to that 2018 win over her opponent this weekend.

Despite Kowalkiewicz’s losing record being a little longer than that of ‘Lil Bulldog’, stretching to five fights, not enough has changed since the first fight for it to be different – and if anything, Herrig is even more banged up due to numerous injuries. It’d be nice to see Herrig pick up a win, but the pick is Kowalkiewicz via split decision.

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#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims

Picks in bold

UFC lightweight division: Alex da Silva Coelho vs. Joe Solecki

UFC featherweight division: Damon Jackson vs. Daniel Argueta

UFC flyweight division: Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ode Osbourne

UFC lightweight division: Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Niklas Stolze

UFC bantamweight division: Tony Gravely vs. Johnny Munoz Jr

UFC flyweight division: Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Jeff Molina

UFC welterweight division: Andreas Michailidis vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov

UFC flyweight division: Erin Blanchfield vs. JJ Aldrich