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After Greg Hardy win, Allen Crowder eyes early finish over Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Allen Crowder is set to return to the Octagon this Saturday for his third fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The 29-year-old is coming off of a disqualification win over Greg Hardy back in January. The former NFL star threw an illegal knee that stopped the fight and gave Crowder the win. Looking back on the fight, "Pretty Boy" doesn't believe that his opponent quit inside the cage.

"I think they were trying to boost up Greg Hardy and get him a win," Crowder said to Sherdog.com. "I spoiled that moment for them. In the fight, I won the first and was winning the second. [However,] I don't think he threw it because he was losing. It was because he was in the heat of the moment."

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Now, Crowder is back and ready to take on Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The kickboxer made his UFC debut and knocked out Junior Albini in February. For Crowder, the matchup intrigued him a lot as he gets to showcase his skills against a high-level striker.

"He is a very good striker, won his last fight in the UFC. He is undefeated and I am excited to test my skills against him," explained Crowder. "Will be a good stepping stone for me and another big win in the win category."

Against Rozenstruik, Crowder knows he has to leave Greenville with a win. Although his record states he won his last fight, many have told him he doesn't truly have a UFC win. So, "Pretty Boy" understands just how important this fight is.

"It is super important. My first fight I fought Justin Willis and he won three fights after me and lost one and he got cut. You can't afford to take a loss," Crowder stated. "It is a huge fight and I am just trying to further my career in the UFC. I want to put on a stamp that I belong in the UFC and want to get paid. It's a huge fight."

A huge fight indeed, as Crowder is eyeing ranked opponents after this one. He believes he is better everywhere than "Bigi Boy" and knows he will finish the kickboxer early on in the fight.

"I plan on going in there and knocking him out in the first," he explained. "It will be a good standup war and worst case I just drag him into the second and finish him then. Just put me in some good standings. It gets me someone in the top-15. Just further my career. Fight this fight and get another one in September."

A logical next fight could be against Hardy. Many expected the two to rematch after the DQ loss, and Crowder thought that was next. Although it says he beat Hardy and handed him his first loss, he isn't opposed to doing it again.

"I thought I was going to get the phone call to run it back. But, I never heard anything about it so I thought they wanted to give him someone easier to fight and they did just that," Crowder said. "They are trying to build him up, everybody wants to see him lose."

For now, the 29-year-old is just focused on beating Rozenstruik and improving to 2-1 in the UFC.
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