A matchup of heavyweight contenders will go down in September when Curtis Blaydes meets Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 266.
MMA Junkie on Tuesday verified with multiple people close to the situation that Blaydes (14-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Rozenstruik (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) have agreed to meet at the upcoming event. MMAFighting.com was first to report the news.
UFC 266 takes place Sept. 25, but does have an announced location or venue. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+
Blaydes, No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie heavyweight rankings, will return to the octagon after having his momentum toward a title shot snapped by Derrick Lewis with a highlight-reel knockout at UFC Fight Night 185 in February.
He’ll take on No. 7-ranked Rozenstruik, who is coming off a first-round TKO of Augusto Sakai in the UFC Fight Night 189 main event this month. “Bigi Boy” is 2-2 in his past four bouts.
The latest UFC 266 lineup now includes:
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira
- Jessica Andrade vs. Cynthia Calvillo
- Uros Medic vs. Jalin Turner
- Merab Dvalishvili vs. Marlon Moraes
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
