Jairzinho Rozenstruik reflects on his wildly successful 2019 and a memorable Surinamese homecoming.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik had quite a year in 2019.
The heavyweight striker joined the UFC in February and picked up four straight wins, stopping Junior Albini, Allen Crowder, Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem. The impressive streak was more than enough to make Rozenstruik MMA Junkie’s 2019 Newcomer of the Year.
Rozenstruik (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who scheduled to fight Francis Ngannou in the main event of UFC Columbus on March 28, is happy with the progress he made last year.
“Yeah, it was an amazing year, very successful for us and I’m happy about it,” Rozenstruik told MMA Junkie. “Looking back, I still have to do some work, we’re not there yet, so we still have some work. But it was great.”
His most recent victory was the biggest of his career. Rozenstruik stepped up on short notice and stopped long-time UFC contender and former Strikeforce champion Overeem with a vicious KO. Despite the decisive win, Rozenstruik did struggle in the buildup to the knockout, as Overeem was up on the scorecards.
Looking back at the fight, Rozenstruik didn’t expect to have that kind of performance, but sees the experience as a positive.
“For me, and I said this before the fight, me and my team we were going to go in there and change our lives forever, sending a message to everyone,” Rozenstruik said. “The way the fight went, we didn’t expect it, but we were ready for it, we were prepared.
“For us, it’s the first time I had so many minutes inside the octagon and it means a lot because you learn a lot. You get the feeling more, every time I go in the octagon: First round, second round are fast and you don’t do too much in there. This time was different, we learned a lot and we’re happy about it and still got the win, which is the most important. So we’re happy, we learned a lot.”
After the Overeem fight, Rozenstruik made headlines once again, but this time not for a wild knockout. Rozenstruik returned to his home country of Suriname and got a hero’s welcome, which went viral online.
“I didn’t expect it,” Rozenstruik said. “As soon as we landed everyone was singing the national anthem and I was like, ‘Hey, it looks really busy out there.’ I thought it was going to be only family and friends, but yeah, it was a lot of people. Everyone is happy and I’m happy to be in this position representing my country in the world. I look forward to keep doing that in the future.”
Rozenstruik’s popularity has grown immensely in Suriname. And “Bigi Boy” has definitely felt the effects.
“It’s been really crazy when I was there,” Rozenstruik said. “When I’m on the street I can’t walk. If like I do 10 meters in five minutes, I do it them in 45 minutes or half an hour. It’s crazy, I try to enjoy everything I’m going through, but if it’s a little too much, I take myself back and focus on me and what I do.”
The 31-year-old feels honored to be supported by his country and is grateful for the backing and love he’s received.
“It means a lot to me. What can I say, it’s nice and I’m happy that I’m in this position.”
