Cyril Gane is on the fast track to title contention, thanks to his impressive run in the UFC to date. But, could Jairzinho Rozenstruik score an upset win this Saturday at UFC Vegas 20, and derail the rising heavyweight’s hype train?

Want to check out the betting lines for Saturday’s card? Checkout the Olybet website! 

Gane’s run to date

The 30-year-old Gane joined the UFC back in 2019, with some considerable hype behind him, after going 3-0 in pro-MMA and 7-0 in pro-kickboxing. Since then, the French fighter has demonstrated multiple times that the hype was well founded, as Gane has gone 4-0 and scored finishes in three of those fights.

Most recently, in December of last year, Gane took a big step towards a title shot by finishing former champ, Junior dos Santos in the second round. 

Although Rozenstruik has been tapped to face Gane on February 27th, the Surinamese fighter understands why there’s plenty of buzz tied to his opponent. While speaking to MMA Junkie recently, Rozenstruik said this about Gane.

“I think he’s good fighter; he’s phenomenal. He’s doing his thing, he’s winning his fights, so my respect he’s got. I’m going to face him. This is a whole different fight. For me, every fight I fight, it’s a big fight, it’s a championship fight. I go with that mindset, and of course I want to get my hand raised.

“He’s a heavyweight that likes to move. I think’s that’s a positive thing for him. As heavyweights, we tend to stand and not move too much, and he has this ability to move around. I don’t know what fight he’s going to bring, but you know how it is. We get opponent, we train and try to win our fights.”

Rozenstruik also had buzz

It wasn’t long ago, of course, when Rozenstruik also had sizable hype surrounding him. On account of his remarkable kickboxing career (76-8-1), and Rozenstruik’s 6-0 start to MMA, he joined the UFC in 2019. 

The noted striker proceeded to win his first four, UFC bouts, which included stoppage wins over legends Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem. Rozenstruik’s rise was quickly and brutally halted by Gane’s teammate, Francis Ngannou. But in August of last year, the 32-year-old got back on track by taking out the aforementioned, dos Santos.

Will Rozenstruik defy the odds?

Although Rozenstruik has also had an impressive start to his MMA career, as this is being written, the veteran fighter’s the underdog on the betting lines. That’s likely due to the fact that Gane has showed he’s a threat standing or on the ground. After all, the powerful fighter turned heads by tapping out the likes of Raphael Pessoa and Don’Tale Mayes.

But, if Rozenstruik can weather the storm early, counter Gane’s pressure with hard counters, and keep the fight standing, things could get interesting. Especially if Gane gets reckless. 

As this Saturday’s bout approaches, Gane is ranked #7 in the UFC’s heavyweight division and Rozenstruik is #3.

UFC Vegas 20 will be hosted by the promotion’s Apex Facility.