Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Hey everybody Karyn Bryant here today kicking back with me- Jairzinho Rozenstruick, who is going to be fighting in Saudi Arabia and this is gonna be a big fight with Sergei Pavlovich. 

Hi BiGi Boy, how are you? 

I'm good and you? I'm doing great… upcoming Saturday… yeah next week yeah… 

So this is a big deal fight for you you're on a two- win streak right now what do you make of the matchup with this guy? You guys are moving in opposite directions right now in terms of your record, but we know how dangerous he is. 

I know I know Sergei very well, we trained together for two years at American Top Team, really cool guy… no bad blood, it's a big fight. I know how dangerous he is. The end of the day it's business, we got to have to get in there and make it happen. I'm going for the win no friend or nothing, so after that we see what happen but right now I feel really good, it’s a good matchup, I'm in a two fight winning streak. You don't want to lose that you know, I'm fighting my way back up; so this is the fight… When I get the fight the first idea was like; I don't want to fight him if I don't have to, but it's business and he possess he possess a spot that I really needed you know to get back on top get myself back in the mix so why not that makes a lot of sense. 

But how much time did you actually spend training together in the past? 

A lot, I know him very well and the other the way around; so it can be a really interesting match. It's going to be who's smarter, who's faster, who can make the fastest combination, who can be in and out… 

But it's been a minute since you guys trained together then obviously? 

Correct, I think it's a maybe a year? 

Oh okay, yeah so that's the thing; you know people are going to say that you each know the other's weak spot or something then, so that can be a little tricky… But that makes the fight more interesting. 

So, you're going to see two fighters that's high level. I know you can't make mistakes. Let me say on my end: I can't make any mistakes, because I know what he's going to come with. He's a strong guy, I give him that; but I'll think I'll could be a smarter fighter in this one. 

You know the the idea is- and most people would expect- that he would probably try to just take you down.

Right, everybody tries that and I I'll never take that away. I know he's a striker, but he has his move on the ground, so I always keep my eye open for that because I don't have a wrestling background, right? But I'm not trying to get touched on the ground, or get the fight a little bit dirty ugly. So yeah, it's a fight it's not easy it's not ballet or you know? So we're gonna get in there it's gonna get ugly, it's gonna get bloody, and I can't wait!

You don't have a wrestling background, but he doesn't have a kickboxing background! So there you go. 

That's correct, and we start standing up, so it makes it more interesting yeah, right. 

So with the win streak now that you're on… I remember speaking to you- I guess it was before the fight with Gaziev, and it was really important for you to get back to winning, right? I know that was the main number one job for you: so now that you're on a two-win streak, do you realize that something changed in your brain? Did something click over? Did you did you level up somehow to get this new run going?

We changed a lot of things. We changed some good things; training habits, training Patron. I also have in my staff, I have another coach that I having since my my two last fights, and so I think that that's one of the big parts. The thing we change, the habits in the gym, yeah we change a lot of things. So you can't name it all; but you know, you've been working, you're learning every day and then yeah in the result come that that's it yeah. 

I'm wondering too at this point in your career: what kinds of things are getting easier for you’ and what kinds of things are actually maybe getting harder? 

Easy and harder? I mean it's still fighting, there's no right or wrong in fighting. You're in there, it’s MMA…I mean there's no right or wrong you got to survive, and you got to win. If you got in trouble you got to get yourself out of trouble. And then finish the fight. So that's how I see it. The main part of it is: there’s no right or wrong in fighting. You can recognize your own growth. 

There was a time when, if you were taken down, it was “oh no!” And then we could see you evolve to where you're getting up, you've got your defense and all that. So we've seen your evolution.

Correct. The understanding of wrestling is different now. I know how to make a takeown. I know how to get to my feet. It’s more like; how the game is played. You get taken down. If the guy's not strong enough you pop up and you turn them around, and then you change the fight. As soon as I touches people they get stitches they get bloody and then soon the fight's over. 

I'm curious: when did you know that you had that power? How many training sessions in the gym when you were young before you realized that you had that touch? 

I didn't know that for a while. My first 20 fight I didn't understand why people was thinking. Because for me, I don't hit hard. Okay, if you ask me like, do you hit hard? People say I hit; but for me, I don't hit hard because I'm doing it out of some flexibility. Sometimes I can be fast, so that make it hard for people. Calling of God, but if you ask me I don't think I hit that hard. 

Well I think some of your opponents would disagree. Namely the guy with the split lip, Alistair. That fight was crazy! That was crazy when you pulled that… 

You talked about getting back in the mix and making a run for it again. What do you make of the division right now, and whether or not Jon is going to fight Tom? 

Who knows what's going to happen with that? For me, what make sense for me is this upcoming weekend. If Jon fights or he doesn't fight, I don't care. After this I'm only need one more fight or get myself back in a mix. One of the fighters that I didn't fight yet, and then I can have this conversation. I’m not focusing on what I have to make of the division right now. The job is Sergei right now as the main focus. I didn't even look at the division with everything that's happening. I heard of it, I look at it before; but right now I don't really know what I what I want to say. The job is here I have my head focus, going to Saudi this Sunday… 

What do you think about fighting over there? It is a very different environment. 

It’s my first time on that side of the world; I think it's going to be awesome. I heard a lot of things about about Saudi and I'm curious and I can't wait to have that experience and then know it for myself. 

Yeah that's going to be very cool. I'm not on that one but I agree with you. 

I was about to ask! 

No, I wish- I love seeing the world too. 

I have to ask you about your food truck. People who don't know that BiGi has got a food truck. It's barbecue, right? Tell the people about it and where they can find it.

Right now the food truck is in Hollywood, 300 Northwest 62 in Hollywood, Florida, and it's going great. I can't complain, everybody likes it so far. I think it's now five months that we running it, and it's going great, better every day. And I'm happy that I did it too, because there's no food truck with Suriname barbecue or Suriname dishes in Florida so that's another big step that I make for my country as well. I'm happy that I did this, I love it. 

My mom is Jamaican, so I know about Jamaican barbecue: obviously everybody knows about jerk chicken and all that. How is Suriname barbecue different from other kinds of barbecue? What's the main selling point about it? 

In Suriname’s barbecue we use more herbs in in our in our seasoning, the way we season and we have to leave leave it for days in the fridge you know to to get the the the seasoning in. We have the homemade sauce; so it's not that a barbecue sauce you're going to buy it in the store; no, you got to make it at the house, you got to put some work in it. We got some fiery peanut sauce that comes with it crazy soy sauce you gotta come down you gotta tell to come down and try it. 

I'm telling you my stomach is growling! I told you before when I was there in August and we were talking about it but I I'm a pescatarian BiGi, so I need you to do some fish for me. 

I will do that that that's easy soon as you got back in town let me know before and I got you nice. Okay I will do that! 

With this fight coming up, is there anything that on this fight you want to do that you haven't done in another fight before? Or just something about this one that you really want to do, have a point to prove or anything like that? 

I have it, but I don't want to say it on video right now. But after we'll talk about it again. I'm about to prove some some different things that I've been working on, and I'm not shy to do it, so I can't wait for for the for February 1 to make it happen. I just can't say it: when we talk back about we'll talk about it so keep this. 

Okay, perfect. Well thank you for talking with me today. It's always great kicking back with you; wishing you the best of luck. And everybody needs to watch out because that that hand o my goodness! It’s gonna be a great fight with Sergei… Thanks so much BiGi! 

Thank you my pleasure!