It only took Jair Rozenstruik only 29 seconds to pick up his win bonus on Saturday night.
Rozenstruik (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski by first-round knockout on the UFC 244 prelims.
In the opening seconds, “Bigi Boy” stunned Arlovski (28-19 MMA, 17-13 UFC)with a jab. Unwilling to let the Belarusian off the hook, Rozenstruik landed a series of shots which wobbled Arlovski again.
When Arlovski rushed Rozenstruik, the Suriname heavyweight saw an opening and took it. A short counter left was all it took to send Arlovski face-planting to the canvas.
The fight marked the biggest UFC experience differential in the promotion’s history. While Arlovski, the former UFC heavyweight champion, competed in his 31st fight for the promotion, Rozenstruik fought in his third.
Check out Rozenstruik’s KO in the video below:
In his last outing in June, Rozenstruik picked up the second-quickest TKO in UFC history when he finished Allen Crowder in eight seconds. Undefeated in his career, Rozenstruik has finished all three of his UFC opponents with strikes.
With the loss, Arlovski has lost nine out of his last 12 outings. Since March 2018, Arlovski has only won one of his five UFC fights.
Heading into the fight, Arlovski accused Rozenstruik of greasing in past fights. “He’s a dirty (expletive),” Arlovski told MMA Junkie. “He put grease on his body when he fought in Japan.”
The heavyweight bout was part of the UFC 244 preliminary card at Madison Square Garden in New York. It aired on ESPN2 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+ and ahead of the main card on pay-per-view.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 244 results include:
- Jair Rozenstruik def. Andrei Arlovski via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:29
- Katlyn Chookagian def. Jennifer Maia via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Lyman Good def. Chance Rencountre via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:03
- Hakeem Dawodu def. Julio Arce via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
