Tired of waiting for title shot, Francis Ngannou happy to focus on Jairzinho Rozenstruik

Francis Ngannou has openly vented his frustration with the stalling of the UFC’s heavyweight title picture.

UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic lost his title to Daniel Cormier in July 2018, and it took over a year to run things back. Cormier opted to have his first title defense against Derrick Lewis, then took his rematch with Miocic.

After Miocic regained his title in August by taking Cormier out at UFC 241, it seemed a trilogy was imminent, but it’s yet to be booked. Miocic has been sidelined with an eye injury, and while Cormier mentioned that the fight will likely take place in June, the UFC is hasn’t made an announcement just yet.

That has forced Ngannou, who’s climbed his way back to contention with three straight first-round knockouts, to take yet another fight before he gets a second shot at the title.

“Honestly about that, I don’t even know what to think anymore,” Ngannou told MMA Junkie. “We can speculate, like assume whatever we want to, but only the UFC knows what happened and when would that happen. I mean, I’m not surprised, the only thing is, it’s kind of bizarre to be in a division that the title is not running. The title is stopped, so we don’t even know if it’s going to happen or when. Maybe in six months, in one year, or when.”

Ngannou (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) faces undefeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 8 headliner on March 28 in Columbus, Ohio, and while a title shot is what he wanted next, he said he’s now just happy to have a task at hand.

“Being right around there, expecting it, it’s kind of a stressful thing, so I don’t want to think about it anymore,” Ngannou said. “At least now, I have something to focus on, even though it’s not exactly what I wanted. But yeah, I stay focused on Rozenstruik, and that keeps my mind busy.”

With fighters such as Jose Aldo and Yoel Romero getting title shots coming off of losses, there’s no real blueprint on what needs to be done to earn a title opportunity. But in Ngannou’s case, he thinks it’s not only because he’s been winning. His finishes over Curtis Blaydes and former UFC heavyweight champs Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, should speak for themselves, he said.

“In the right world, title shot should not be something that has to be guaranteed,” Ngannou said. “It will just be something if the athlete deserves it. If he puts himself in the spot for it, then he gets it.”