Rising heavyweight contenders Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Jailton Almeida will go head to head in the UFC Fight Night main event at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday (3 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN+, with prelims at 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+).
Rozenstruik, 35, ranked No. 10 in ESPN's divisional rankings, is coming off a first-round knockout of Chris Daukaus at UFC 282. The heavyweight has a 7-4 record in the UFC. Almeida, unranked by ESPN, was arguably the top rookie in the UFC last year after earning a contract on Dana White's Contender Series in 2021. With a win on Saturday, Almeida would improve to 5-0 inside the Octagon.
Brett Okamoto spoke to Xtreme Couture MMA coach Eric Nicksick to get his perspective on the matchup. ESPN betting experts Ian Parker and Reed Kuhn add their insights and analysis for the main event and other intriguing bets they like.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
