UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou is expected to face Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC Columbus later this month, but the event has recently been moved to Las Vegas.
The two heavyweights are expected to headline the UFC Columbus event on March 28, 2020. Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the entire event was in jeopardy, but it was announced by the UFC on Thursday that the Columbus event, will be moved to the new UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Following the announcement of the location change for the event by the UFC, Ngannou commented on this decision on his Twitter.
“Doesn’t matter where the fight is at, we’re still going to perform and put on the fun for the fans stuck at home. Happy that the @ufc found a way to make this happen at the UFC Apex. One of the most state of the art facilities in sports. Let’s go #areyounotentertained”
News of the card being shifted is obviously a big blow to those fans in Columbus who had bought tickets to the event and who were looking forward to seeing Ngannou and Rozenstruik throw down. Unfortunately, the coronavirus outbreak put a wrench in those plans, and now the card will take place at the UFC Apex with very few to no fans in attendance.
The 33-year old Ngannou will enter the contest on a 3-fight rampage, picking up recent knockout victories over Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, all in the 1st round. This will be his first time back in the Octagon since June, 2019.
Meanwhile, “Bigi Boy” Jairzinho Rozenstruik will be looking to keep his perfect MMA record intact with a win over Ngannou. The No. 6 ranked Surinamese heavyweight is 10-0 with 4 victories inside the Octagon. He last beat Alistair Overeem by knockout in the 5th round at UFC on ESPN 7 in December of last year.
UFC Columbus, also known as UFC on ESPN 8 is set to take place on March 28, 2020 at UFC APEX training centre in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 14th March, 2020.
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