HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDERS’ DOUBLEHEADER AT UFC® APEX IN LAS VEGAS
FEATURED BOUTS:
(#6) JAIRZINHO ROZENSTRUIK vs. (#9) AUGUSTO SAKAI
(#8) WALT HARRIS vs. (#11) MARCIN TYBURA
Memphis, Tennessee - UFC® returns to UFC APEX with a pair of thrilling heavyweight contenders’ bouts, as No. 6 ranked Jairzinho Rozenstruik battles No. 9 Augusto Sakai. The co-main event will see No. 8 Walt Harris take on surging No. 11 Marcin Tybura.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: ROZENSTRUIK vs. SAKAI will take place Saturday, June 5 from UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The entire card will be available in English and Spanish on ESPN+, starting with the prelims at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT and the main card at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
Former kickboxing standout Rozenstruik (11-2, fighting out of Paramaribo, Suriname) made waves upon joining the UFC roster in early 2019, securing four consecutive knockouts within a 10-month span. He has delivered spectacular KO victories over heavyweight legends Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski to crack the division’s top five. Rozenstruik now hopes to defend his spot in the rankings by turning away a dangerous rising contender.
After turning heads on Dana White’s Contender Series to secure a UFC contract, Sakai (15-2-1, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) immediately began ascending the heavyweight ladder. Throughout his Octagon run he has earned memorable wins against Blagoy Ivanov, Andrei Arlovski and Chase Sherman. Sakai now has his sights set on making the most of his second UFC main event by netting the biggest victory of his career to enter the heavyweight top five.
KO artist Harris (13-9 1NC, fighting out of Birmingham, Ala.) is gunning for another highlight-reel finish to cement his status as one of the top heavyweights in the world. The heavy-handed striker has finished each of his career wins, including standout performances against Aleksei Oleinik, Sergey Spivak and Chase Sherman. Harris now looks to send a message with another thrilling KO.
Tybura (21-6, fighting out of Uniejow, Poland) enters his fifth year on the UFC roster riding an impressive four-fight win streak. Coming off a Performance of the Night earning win over Greg Hardy in December, he has also delivered notable victories over Ben Rothwell, Stefan Struve and Andrei Arlovski. Tybura now aims to continue his momentum by taking out another hard-hitting contender.
Additional bouts on the card include:
Roman Dolidze (8-1, fighting out of Batumi, Georgia) faces Laureano Staropoli (9-3, fighting out of La Plata, Argentina), who is stepping in for injured Alessio Di Chirico at middleweight
Welterweight veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-4, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) aims to become the first fighter to stop undefeated Miguel Baeza (10-0, fighting out of Davie, Fla.)
Dusko Todorovic (10-1, fighting out of Belgrade, Serbia) squares off with replacement Gregory Rodrigues (9-3, fighting out of Los Angeles), who is replacing injured Maki Pitolo at middleweight
Tom Breese (12-3, fighting out of Birmingham, England) meets Antonio Arroyo (9-4, fighting out of Belem, Para, Brazil) in a clash of middleweight strikers
Makwan Amirkhani (16-5, fighting out of Turku, Finland by way of Kurdistan) locks horns with replacement Kamuela Kirk (11-4, fighting out of Peoria, Ariz.) at featherweight, due to an injury sustained by Nate Landwehr
Montana De La Rosa (11-6-1, fighting out of Fort Worth, Texas) faces Ariane Lipski (13-6, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) in a women’s flyweight contest
Tanner Boser (19-7-1, fighting out of Edmonton, Alta., Canada) meets Ilir Latifi (15-8 1NC, fighting out of Malmo, Sweden) in a battle of budding heavyweight contenders
Francisco Trinaldo (26-7, fighting out of Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil) makes his welterweight debut when he takes on Muslim Salikhov (17-2, fighting out of Buynaksk, Dagestan, Russia)
Alan Patrick (15-3, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) aims to return to his winning ways against Mason Jones (10-1, fighting out of Blaenavon, Wales) at lightweight
Manon Fiorot (6-1, fighting out of Nice, France) looks to build off the momentum of her impressive debut when she takes on tough Maryna Moroz (10-3, fighting out of Volnogorsk, Ukraine) at flyweight
Sean Woodson (7-1, fighting out of St. Louis, Mo.) takes on Youssef Zalal (10-4, fighting out of Englewood, Colo. by way of Casablanca, Morocco) in a clash of promising featherweights
Claudio Puelles (10-2, fighting out of Lima, Peru) hopes to hand unbeaten Jordan Leavitt (8-0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) his first career loss in a lightweight bout
About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 625 million fans and 155 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to approximately 900M TV households across more than 175 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 70 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is owned by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 13.8 million subscribers.
Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $13.99/month (Hulu w/ads) or $19.99/month (Hulu w/o ads).
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features nine U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
Media Contact:
Press Contact for UFC:
Chris Costello
Press Contact for ESPN / ESPN+
Ardi Dwornik
Paul Melvin
G.H. 04.28.2021
Comments