UFC Vegas 28: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Augusto Sakai Picks and Predictions

Jairzinho Rozenstruik and. Augusto Sakai face off in a heavyweight bout for the main event of UFC Vegas 28 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. 

Jairzinho Rozenstruik comes into this fight with an 11-2 record overall but those two losses have come in his last three fights. Rozenstruik’s last fight came against Ciryl Gane in February of 2021 and that was a fight he lost by unanimous decision. Rozenstruik was outstruck 102-42 in that fight and that led to the defeat. Rozenstruik is averaging 3.14 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.48 significant strikes per minute. Rozenstruik wants to keep the fight on the feet and he is stopping 80 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts. Rozenstruik is also averaging 0.0 submission attempts every 15 minutes. When Rozenstruik wins, it’s by knockout. Each of his five wins in the UFC has come that way. 

On the other side of this fight is Augusto Sakai who comes into this fight with a 15-2-1 record overall but he is coming off a loss in his last fight. Sakai had won each of his first five fights inside the UFC, before losing against Alistair Overeem in September of 2020. Three of Sakai’s five wins inside the UFC have come by knockout. Sakai’s last win came in May of 2020 against Blagoy Ivanov, one that he won by split decision. Sakai is averaging 5.32 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.02 significant strikes per minute. Sakai is averaging 0.15 successful takedowns every 15 minutes and is successful on 50 percent of his attempts. Sakai is stopping 66 percent of his opponents takedown attempts. If Sakai wants to win this fight, he needs to avoid the power in Rozenstruik’s hands.