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Posted at 11:00 AM EST

UFC 249 - VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena - Jacksonville, FL

Ngannou/Rozenstruik over 1½ Rounds +125

11:15 PM EST. Francis Ngannou is as impressive as a physical specimen to ever step into the Octagon and he is very much being groomed to be the kingpin of the UFC's heavyweight division. In his last two fights, "The Predator" finished a pair of future UFC Hall of Famers after pounding on both Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos for a total of 1:37 of Octagon time. In addition to those short nights, Ngannou polished off four more of his UFC opponents in the first round, including the likes of Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem, who the "Predator" sent to the moon. That body of work points to Ngannou potentially being in for a quick night at the office, as he steps away from taking down former champions to battling a fighter that is a relative unknown to the casual observer.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik is just four fights into his UFC career and his early trajectory looks very similar to Ngannou's in that he was fed both Arlovski and Overeem long after their primes to build a credible résumé on paper. "Bigi Boy" has finished half of his fights in the first round with another not making it to the one minute mark of round two. It appears that the UFC has pitted two firecrackers against each other in what is sure to be a barn burner, but rarely is it that easy. In his last fight, Rozenstruik went nearly five rounds with "The Reem" in the main event of UFC on ESPN in December. Ngannou has gone the distance as well, most notably in a disappointing loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC 226, which was another fight that was expected to produce a high level of violence and end early.

The winner of this one is going to be in line for a Heavyweight Championship fight sooner rather than later and that's where the hesitation to pounce could set in. Similar stakes were on the line when Ngannou fought Lewis and neither fighter wanted to engage. A knockout one way or the other might be in the cards, but if it comes, it will be after the midway point of round two. An unsatisfying decision between two young fighters that don't want to lose it all is also not out of the question.

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