Jairzinho “Bigi Boy” Rozenstruik, 31, of Paramaribo, Suriname was one of the winners at “UFC 244.” It was the undefeated mixed martial artist’s third victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Featuring 12 MMA bouts, the UFC held “UFC 244” at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, USA on November 2, 2019. In the fourth bout of the evening, Rozenstruik competed in the heavyweight division against actor and MMA veteran Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski, 40, of Minsk, Belarus.
Dan Miragliotta served as the referee. He put a stop to the heavyweight contest after 29 seconds in the first round when Rozenstruik knocked out Arlovski via punch.
“It was a moment for me,” Rozenstruik said in his post-fight interview. “Even when I was done and standing in there, I made it already. Now I got the win and I feel even better.”
“Now on to the next one,” the undefeated Surinamese MMA fighter continued. “For sure, I want another one for this year. If it’s open for me, I’ll go in right away.”
Winning at “UFC 244” improved the professional MMA record of Rozenstruik to 8 wins and 0 loss. On the other hand, Arlovski now has 28 wins, 19 losses, 0 draw and 2 No Contests.
Including Suriname and Belarus, eight countries were represented at “UFC 244.” The others were Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, England, Finland and the U.S.
Born in Paramaribo on March 17, 1988, Rozenstruik was the first ever Surinamese MMA fighter to compete in the UFC. The first two opponents he defeated in the promotion were Junior “Baby” Albini, 28, of Paranagua, Parana, Brazil and Allen “Pretty Boy” Crowder, 29, of Mebane, North Carolina, USA.
Arlovski was the only fighter who represented Belarus. Rozenstruik solely represented Suriname.
“UFC 244” was headlined by Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, 34, of Miami, Florida, USA and Nate Diaz, 34, of Stockton, California, USA. They competed in the welterweight division and the winner took home the special BMF belt presented by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.