Why the hell would a single loss for one of the division's most promising prospects to a man who can casually jab you and send your head into the third row mean immediately cutting said prospect? Bigi Boi you could have a slightly better argument for considering he's 2-3 in his last five, but the guy still has potential for decent fights in a talent-starved division IMO.
As for the fight, I think it would be a case of pretty bad matchmaking on the UFC's part if they really want to protect and push Daukaus. Bigi Boi is a terrible stylistic matchup for Chris. I say that as someone who is a fan of his and wants to see where he'll go. But we just saw him get outboxed for about 85% of the first round by 40-year-old Shamil motherfucking Abdurakhimov coming off a 2-year layoff because he couldn't handle a big flat-footed dude who stood there waiting to counter him without giving him any good reads until popping him. Jair -- for all his faults: always being on the back foot, being super gun-shy, having terrible output, etc. -- is actually a solid counter-striker with good timing and can be frustrating to fight for many of the same reasons. Furthermore, he has a solid chin. Francis is the only one to crack it in MMA and in 85 kickboxing matches he only got finished twice. Daukaus has been knocked out twice by fighters on the regional scene.
Rozenstruik would also have an advantage of kicks, something Chris doesn't employ. Jair has used high kicks and leg kicks, with the latter potentially being a big tool in his arsenal against someone as boxing-heavy as Daukaus. Chris is supposedly a solid grappler and has a BJJ Black Belt. To his credit, he does train primarily out of a BJJ gym. He defended against Oleinik pretty well for what that's worth. But he only has one submission victory, has been submitted on the regional scene, and never really seems to employ his ground game like his brother. He doesn't have a wrestling background. Maybe it's a skill in his back pocket. Beyond that, however, the only thing we can say for sure that Chris has in his arsenal in a hypothetical bout with Bigi Boi is his obscene speed -- both in terms of footwork and hand speed. I could see him trying to blitz in and out and land combinations, maybe dirty box a bit... but that's a dangerous game. He might be better served trying to get takedowns or at least threaten them. It would legitimately only take one mistake. His conditioning looked really good against Shamil. I was afraid he had emptied the tank at the end of Round 1, but he was never even breathing heavy even in the post-fight interview. But Rozenstruik carries his power throughout a five-round fight.
That's a fight I've wanted to see for a while, but it could very easily become a staring match. Jair looked like he might be turning over a new leaf in the Sakai fight in terms of going forward and throwing hands and finishing dudes, but then Blaydes happened. A lot of people would hope for Derrick Lewis to move forward and bring the heat, but Ciryl Gane just happened to him and we all saw how he reacted to that onslaught in front of his hometown crowd.
