UFC heavyweight contenders Jailton Almeida, Jairzinho Rozenstruik agree to May 13 clash
Heavyweight contenders Jailton Almeida and Jairzinho Rozenstruik have agreed to meet May 13 at a UFC Fight Night event.
The card does not have a location or venue announced yet, but it’s expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Anthony Smith and Johnny Walker.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the targeted heavyweight booking to MMA Junkie on Monday, but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Almeida (18-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) was one of the promotion’s breakthrough up-and-comers in 2022, a year in which he went 3-0. Although he originally entered the UFC a light heavyweight, Almeida found success at heavyweight with wins over Parker Porter and, most recently, Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC 283 in January.
Rozenstruik (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) will look to turn a standalone victory over Chris Daukaus in December into a winning streak. Since a title eliminator knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in May 2020, Rozenstruik has had ups and downs with three wins and three losses in that stretch.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for May 13 includes:
- Anthony Smith vs. Johnny Walker
- Jailton Almeida vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Matt Brown vs. Court McGee
- Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Tainara Lisboa