MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC Charlotte, a five-round heavyweight bout between champion Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Jailton Almeida. The event takes place on Saturday, May 13 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Jailton Almeida (-550)
Almeida (18-2) is the No. 12 ranked heavyweight in the UFC. The 31-year-old Brazilian joined the UFC in 2022 and he already has a perfect 4-0 record in the Octagon with all four of his wins coming by stoppage. Overall, Almeida is riding a 13-fight win streak and he looks like someone who could be a future champion. He has an utterly dominant ground game and he also has improving striking. If he can round out his game even more, Almeida could be fighting for gold in one or two years’ time. He is extremely talented and there is no reason to think Almeida won’t be a top-10 fighter very soon.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik (+400)
Rozenstruik (13-4) is the No. 9 ranked heavyweight in the UFC. The 35-year-old Suriname native has a 7-4 record in the Octagon since joining the UFC back in 2019. He has been solid overall in the UFC, with all seven of his wins coming by knockout. Of course, he has also lost four times, including twice by knockout and twice by decision. He is an excellent kickboxer, but the rest of his game is rather limited, which is stopping Rozenstruik from joining the division’s elite. He is a good fighter who always has a puncher’s chance at heavyweight, but he’s not someone who will be a future champion. That being said, Rozenstruik will be looking to play spoiler here against Almeida, keeping his prospect opponent from reaching the upper echelon of the division by getting an upset win.
Fight Breakdown: This is a relatively straightforward fight to break down. It basically comes down to whether or not Almeida can get Rozenstruik down to the ground. If he can, this fight should be over pretty quickly, potentially even in the first round, as there is a massive gap in talent in the grappling department. If Almeida can’t get the takedown, then he still has a chance to win on the feet, although obviously, Rozenstruik would be in a better position to win in a standup fight. But I really don’t see that being the case here. I see Almeida landing takedowns early and often, moving into a dominant position, and finishing Rozenstruik with a choke for his biggest UFC victory to date.
Prediction: Jailton Almeida via submission
