Video | Jairzinho Rozenstruik issues apology to fans following his “worst performance ever” against Ciryl Gane

UFC heavyweight contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik issued an apology to his fans after a poor performance against Ciryl Gane at UFC Vegas 20.

With two of the UFC’s top-10 heavyweights locked inside the Octagon, many fans were hoping to see a slugfest from Rozenstruik and Gane. However, the fight did not play out anything like that. Gane chose to stay on the outside and use his jab to win on points, while Rozenstruik was content to just stand there and get picked apart. It was a smart gameplan by Gane, though one that UFC president Dana White later criticized. As for Rozenstruik, it was very difficult to watch him stand there like a statue and rarely throw his hands. Overall, it was a frustrating matchup and now Rozenstruik is apologizing for it.

Taking to his social media following the event, Rozenstruik said sorry to the fans for his poor showing against Gane, vowing to return better than ever in his next outing.

A first statement. #UFCVegas20 pic.twitter.com/Mxkwto662n

— Jairzinho 'BIGI BOY' Rozenstruik (@JairRozenstruik) February 28, 2021

“Fans, family, and friends. I just fought, and the fight didn’t go my way. I think it was my worst performance ever if you ask me, I’m hard on myself,” Rozenstruik said. “So this is me explaining myself, I think I owe you guys this. I’m going to go back home and work my ass off for my next fight. Don’t know when it’s going to be. Respect to Ciryl, he won the fight and he’s a phenomenal fighter. That is what I can say.”

The loss to Gane dropped the UFC record of Rozenstruik to 5-2 overall. Despite losing this fight, he will remain in the UFC heavyweight top-10 and is still likely only a couple of wins away from title contention in a shallow division. For his next outing, look for the UFC to give Rozenstruik someone ranked a bit lower in the top-10, or potentially even use him as a gatekeeper for prospects following this disaster of a performance by him against Gane.

Do you think the fans deserved to hear this apology from Jairzinho Rozenstruik?