Jairzinho Rozenstruik assured a quick end to his UFC Fight Night headliner against Alexander Volkov. While that prediction came true, it did not pan out quite how Rozenstruik had envisioned.
Volkov made short work of Rozenstruik at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday evening. "Drago" survived a tense tornado of strikes in the pocket and promptly backed Rozenstruik up against the fence. Volkov returned with a flurry of his own, wobbling Rozenstruik and launching his victim's mouthguard to the floor. Referee Herb Dean waved off the fight at 2:12 of Round 1 despite protests by Rozenstruik. Volkov was officially awarded the victory via TKO.
"I'm just feeling happy to get a win. Now I'm waiting for the next fight. Anyone. I'm ready for any challenge, anything," Volkov told UFC commentator Paul Felder in the post-fight interview. "I know that he doesn't have good defense with his back to the cage. I saw him go to the cage and just went forward for the knockout. Good fight."
Volkov, a former Bellator and M-1 heavyweight champion, improved to 35-10 overall and secured his only first-round finish across 13 UFC fights over six years. He added Rozenstruik to a hit list that boasts former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem. Rozenstruik dropped to 12-4 and has now suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his mixed martial arts career.