UFC Vegas 20: More Heavyweights Looking To Climb The Ladder

Last week, Derrick Lewis cemented his standing in the UFC’s heavyweight division with a win over Curtis Blaydes. Now, two more big guys look to do the same at UFC Vegas 20.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Cyril Gane collide in the main event Saturday night live on ESPN+. The two fill the void that was created when a bout between Dominick Reyes and Jiri Prochazka was scrapped. 

The 32-year-old Rozenstruik is coming off an August finish of former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. He is 11-1 overall with the lone setback being to top contender Francis Ngannou.

During his run with the UFC since 2019, Rozenstruik has made a big impact. He owns wins over dos Santos, Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski all via finish. 

That is what has made his climb to the top of the division so easy as all of his six UFC appearances have ended before the final bell. That includes a fifth round stoppage of Overeem with four seconds left.

Gane, 30 years old, is a perfect 7-0 including four wins with the UFC. Like his opponent, he stopped dos Santos back in December for the biggest win to date of his career.

Gane also owns a pair of submission wins, something Rozenstruik will need to be mindful of Saturday night.

The card also features Nikita Krylov and Magomed Ankalaev in a light heavyweight contest. Montana De La Rosa meets Mayra Bueno Silva, Pedro Munhoz squares off with Jimmie Rivera, Angela Hill battles Ashley Yoder and Alex Caceres-Kevin Croom round out the main card.

On the prelims, Thiago Moises fights Alexander Hernandez, Alex Oliveira faces Ramazan Kuramagomedov, Sabina Mazo battles Alexis Davis, Vince Cachero takes on Ronnie Lawrence and Dustin Jacoby squares off against Maxim Grishin.