What’s next for Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik after UFC Vegas 56?

In the main event of UFC Vegas 56, a heavyweight bout headlined the card as Alexander Volkov took on Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Volkov was looking to rebound from a submission loss to Tom Aspinall in the main event of UFC London back in March. The former Bellator champ had been inconsistent as of late, going just 4-4 in his last eight and was looking to remain a contender in the heavyweight division. Rozenstruik, meanwhile, was coming off a decision loss to Curtis Blaydes his last time out.

In the end, it was Volkov winning by first-round TKO, although Rozenstruik disputed the stoppage loss on Twitter. Now, after UFC Vegas 56 here is what I think should be next for both men.

Alexander Volkov

Alexander Volkov proved he still can be a contender in the heavyweight division on Saturday with his win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Although Volkov got a big first-round TKO win, he is in a weird spot in the heavyweight division given he has lost to Gane, Blaydes, Lewis, and Aspinall who are all ranked ahead of him. With that, the Russian will likely need to continue to fight below him and a logical next fight is to face the rising Alexandr Romanov. Romanov looks to be the real deal but he will need to get past Volkov to prove that, while if the Russian can derail the hype, he will have a ton of momentum and will be able to get a top-five opponent next.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Jairzinho Rozenstruik, like Alexander Volkov, had now lost to most of the top-10 and will need to fight behind him several times before he will get another shot at a top-10, top-five opponent.

Even though Rozenstruik did lose by first-round TKO, he said in his statement he didn’t take much damage and wants to return ASAP. With that, a logical next fight is to face Marcin Tybura given that the two were booked to fight at UFC Columbus and UFC 273 but it never came to fruition. Now, that they are both coming off losses to Volkov, the fight makes even more sense now.

Who do you think should be next for Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik?