Francis Ngannou’s power may be unmatched in MMA.
The heavyweight contender reminded everyone of his power Saturday when he stopped Jairzinho Rozenstruik quickly into their heavyweight bout. Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) just needed just 20 seconds to put away Rozenstruik (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) with a vicious knoc.
The heavyweight bout was part of the UFC 249 main card at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+ and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Rozenstruik landed a few leg kicks that connected well on Ngannou. But shortly after that, Ngannou rushed Rozenstruik. Both began to throw, and just a couple seconds into their exchange, Ngannou floored Rozenstruik with a powerful left hook.
He followed up with ground-and-pound, but it was clear Rozenstruik was already out.
In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Ngannou expressed frustrations with the title picture at heavyweight. The Cameroonian is on a 4-0 run with all four wins coming by first-round knockout since losing to Derrick Lewis in 2018.
With champion Stipe Miocic on the sidelines and a pending trilogy fight with former champion Daniel Cormier, it’s uncertain when Ngannou will get another crack at the title.
On Rozenstruik’s side, the result ends his unbeaten run in MMA. The heavyweight striker made headlines with his impressive UFC start and won four fights within a year of joining the promotion.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 249 results include:
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Francis Ngannou def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:20
- Calvin Kattar def. Jeremy Stephens via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:42
- Greg Hardy def. Yorgan De Castro via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Anthony Pettis def. Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Aleksei Oleinik def. Fabricio Werdum via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Carla Esparza def. Michelle Waterson via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 30-27)
- Vicente Luque def. Niko Price via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 3, 3:37
- Bryce Mitchell def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)
- Ryan Spann def. Sam Alvey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
