WASHINGTON – Jairzinho Rozenstruik is making it clear: He wants a piece of former UFC heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou.
Ahead of his UFC on ESPN 7 headliner against Alistair Overeem on Saturday night, Rozenstruik (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) already has mapped out his path towards UFC gold.
A victory against Ngannou will get him one step closer to that goal, Rozenstruik said. Additionally, Rozenstruik indicated the matchup is appealing because it allows him the opportunity to finally prove who the most intimidating fighter in the UFC is.
“It would be a nice fight,” Rozenstruik told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s open workouts. “He’s the scary guy of the division – the boogeyman. (I’m) the other boogeyman of the division. You want to create a bomb in the octagon? Put me in against him and lock the doors. The UFC fans will enjoy it.”
Presumably, most human beings would file Ngannou under “intimidating” and “scary.” Rozenstruik is not one of them. The Surinamese fighter said he looks at Ngannou through the same lens as he would any opponent.
“Nah, I don’t, because it’s a fight,” Rozenstruik said. “We’re going to go back and forth. It’s going to take five rounds of five minutes or three rounds of five minutes. I cannot be any wrong.”
Does Rozenstruik think Ngannou will take the fight? Rozenstruik indicated Ngannou should stop asking for Alexander Volkov and fight him instead – “if he’s smart,” that is.
“If he’s smart, he’ll take the fight,” Rozenstruik said. “If not, it’s his fault. I think I can make him better because I’m a better fighter in the end. So if it was me, I’d take the fight.”
Before that matchup occurs, however, Rozenstruik will have to face a stiff test in Overeem (45-17 MMA, 10-6 UFC). While he credits Overeem’s abilities and legacy in the cage, “Bigi Boy” believes he has the tools to put “The Reem” down.
“Everybody can say you hit hard,” Rozenstruik said. “I hit hard. But if you can’t hit accurate, you’re going to miss. So the thing is to find the chin and put him down. As soon as that happens, you’re going to see the result.”
UFC on ESPN 7 takes place Saturday at Capital One Arena. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Check out Rozenstruik’s full UFC on ESPN 7 open workout scrum in the video above.
UFC on ESPN 7 headliner Jairzinho Rozenstruik isn't intimidated by Francis Ngannou
