Francis Ngannou had some spectacular knockouts during his UFC career – but none of his opponents fell faster than Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
In May 2020, Ngannou needed just 20 seconds to beat Rozenstruik, but the truth is ‘Bigi Boi’ was out way before the stoppage.
Ngannou turned the lights off with a wild left hookCredit: Getty Images – Getty
After rebounding from back-to-back decision defeats by knocking out Cain Velasquez, Curtis Blaydes and Junior dos Santos, Ngannou was booked in a title eliminator bout against an undefeated prospect.
Rozenstruik quickly earned a 10-0 record after transitioning to MMA from kickboxing and was fresh off a brutal fifth-round stoppage win over Alistair Overeem, whose lip seemed to explode during their fight in December 2019.
Several months later, he found himself standing opposite Ngannou.
Rozenstruik landed an inside leg kick to start proceedings, but Ngannou used his noticeable size advantage to square up and run down his opponent.
The Cameroonian fighter threw a series of shots until a left hook caught Rozenstruik flush on the jaw and sent him to sleep against the cage.
Rather than back away from his unconscious rival, ‘The Predator’ lived up to his nickname by landing several unnecessary shots.
Rozenstruik’s head bounced off the fence as Ngannou uncorked five follow-up hooks before veteran referee Dan Miragliotta was able to step in.
Boxing legend Mike Tyson was one of the many people watching who were blown away by Ngannou’s brutally quick finish of Rozenstruik.
Roznestruik was held up by the cage and continued to eat shotsCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Tyson made a bold post-fight predictionCredit: Mike Tyson – Instagram
Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter – Tyson wrote: “Resounding…vicious…future champ. Francis Ngannou 20 second knockout tonight.”
The 57-year-old made a career by destroying opponents during his reign of terror in the 1980s as he left many top heavyweight contenders on the floor.
Growing up as a child, Ngannou was a huge fan of ‘Iron Mike’ and he wanted to emulate his career inside the boxing ring.
The two men came together to train ahead of Ngannou’s debut in the sport against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury last October.
Ngannou dropped boxing’s best heavyweight in his debutCredit: Getty
Now he’ll try to get a first official win against AJCredit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom
‘The Gypsy King’ got a taste of the power that caused Rozenstruik’s first MMA loss when he was dropped by a Ngannou hook in round three.
Fury survived the scare to record a controversial split decision victory and set up a historic four-belt undisputed fight with WBO, WBA, and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk on May 18.
Ngannou will continue his boxing career against former two-time heavyweight boxing world champion Anthony Joshua on March 8.
Rozenstruik has lost four more fights since being blown away by Ngannou and has just one win from his last four bouts in MMA’s premier promotion.
Rozenstruik is rooting for him despite their historyCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Rozenstruik will look to get his career back on track this Saturday when he takes on undefeated 12-0 contender Shamil Gaziev at UFC Vegas 87.
Ahead of a must-win fight, he has sent some kind words to Ngannou, who he hopes to see beat Joshua at ‘Knockout Chaos’ next weekend.
“The only thing I can say is I wish him luck,” Rozenstruik told TMZ Sports.
“I hope everything goes well for him.
“It was nice sharing the Octagon, the energy, and I wish him luck.
“No bad vibes… I hope he wins.”
