Jairzinho Rozenstruik wants Francis Ngannou bout to be UFC 249 main event, interim title fight

Jairzinho Rozenstruik is down to headline the UFC’s next pay-per-view card.

With Khabib Nurmagomedov out of UFC 249 due to coronavirus travel bans in Russia and no replacement opponent booked to fight Tony Ferguson, the unbeaten heavyweight contender wants the UFC to turn his fight with Francis Ngannou, which was originally scheduled to headline the UFC’s canceled Columbus card on March 28, into the new PPV headliner.

Rozenstruik (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) also wants the contest to be for an interim heavyweight title, since champion Stipe Miocic remains out of commission.

“If it’s going to happen, I’m going to be on it for sure,” Rozenstruik told MMA Junkie regarding the status of the event. “Now, I see the main event is in trouble, so for me it would make it more interesting for me and Francis and also the fans. I mean, I’ve been training for four months, I’m ready to go, so I think they should put the interim belt and make it more interesting because the fans would love to see that.

“The fight between (Daniel Cormier) and Stipe, I don’t know how long that’s going to last,” he continued. “I think with this situation all the fights will be rebooked, so I think people are going to fight twice, maybe once a year. So we don’t know when this situation is going to have a resolution.”

Despite all major sporting organizations in the U.S. and across the world canceling events due to the coronavirus outbreak, the UFC has insisted on putting on their April 18 pay-per-view event against all odds.

The card was originally scheduled to take place in the New York borough of Brooklyn, but due to state bans on large gatherings, and a guidance from the federal government to limit gatherings to less than 10 people, the UFC was forced to move the event elsewhere. The Las Vegas-based company has yet to determine a location for the card, which is two weeks away.

‘They haven’t told us the location, yet,” Rozenstruik said. “But for us we’re still hoping, and we do our best to keep training, so we’d be ready for when they give us the location.”

Rozenstruik is aware of the expert guidelines on social distancing in today’s climate, but he has no issue traveling and taking on Ngannou.

“I’m OK with that, but I always try to take care of myself, eat healthy and follow guidelines,” Ngannou said. “I don’t want to put anybody’s life in danger, but I always, this is a private situation and I know we as humans we’re going to come up with something for it, so it’s only a matter of time. We as human we’ll take care of this situation, I don’t think anything will happen, it’s not that dangerous I think.”

It’s true that COVID-19 affects elderly and people with underlying conditions and weak immune systems more than young, healthy individuals. Yet, the spread and contagion is still the same for everyone, which is why experts recommend people to stay home, avoid travel, and practice social distancing.

Despite all the hiccups surrounding the event, Rozenstruik is more than ready to fight. Rozenstruik is done with his training camp and is prepared to headline UFC 249 wherever that might be.

“It’s the best move, we’ve been ready for so long,” Rozenstruik said. “I’ve been training for four months, he’s been training for nine months, so I think that’s the best move to make because everything takes so long. In my opinion, it’s best to do that.”