Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik meet Saturday on the UFC Fight Night 250 main card at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Last event: 3-2
UFC main cards, 2024: 6-5
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik UFC Fight Night 250 preview
Pavlovich (18-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has only lost three fights in his professional career, but two of those have come in his most recent appearances. Tom Aspinall halted a six-fight tear of first-round finishes at UFC 295, followed by a unanimous decision loss to Alexander Volkov in June. … Conversely, Rozenstruik (15-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) enters as a winner of back-to-back fights for the first time in five years. After a rocky 3-5 stretch from 2019-23, “Bigi Boy” won both bouts in 2024, defeating Shamil Gaziev and Tai Tuivasa.
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik UFC Fight Night 250 expert pick, prediction
Considering that the matchmakers knew better than to put the other two heavyweight fights on the main card, I’ll shelve my usual complaints about the big boys.
After all, the real “Bigi Boy,” Rozenstruik, is thankfully only scheduled for three rounds when he meets fellow contender Pavlovich.
In his defense, Rozenstruik has shown steady improvements and impressive spurts of offense when given the right amount of aggression to work with. Although Pavlovich would appear to be the perfect dance partner on paper, the former title contender has trended more conservative in his stylings since getting knocked out by Tom Aspinall.
Pavlovich also appeared to have the classic trigger-pulling problems when posed with a former training partner, Alexander Volkov, which is a problem that could repeat itself given the Russian’s history with Rozenstruik at American Top Team.
Rozenstruik is a difficult fighter to be confident in, but I don’t think I’ve picked a Pavlovich fight incorrectly since he signed with the UFC.
The pick is Rozenstruik to win what I predict will be a semi-surprising heavyweight staring contest between two training partners paralyzed by the quietly high stakes attached.
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik UFC Fight Night 250 odds
The oddsmakers and the public are heavily favoring the Russian fighter, listing Pavlovich -330 and Rozenstruik +250 via FanDuel.
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik UFC Fight Night 250 start time, how to watch
Pavlovich and Rozenstruik are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 1:20 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 250.
