Jairzinho Rozenstruik happy to wait for heavyweight title shot: ‘I don’t think I’m ready right now’
Jairzinho Rozenstruik is totally fine if he doesn’t get a title shot with a win on Saturday night.
Rozenstruik is set to return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC Vegas 20 against Ciryl Gane. It’s a very intriguing matchup where the winner would likely be in a number one contender fight next. With Stipe Miocic set to defend his title against Francis Ngannou next month and Jon Jones facing the winner, Rozenstruik knows the division is jammed. However, he believes he isn’t ready for a title fight.
“For me, it doesn’t matter,” Rozenstruik said at UFC Vegas 20 media day. “I want to win, and I’m looking for a quick turnaround. I want to fight more before I fight for a title, so Jon Jones can go first.”
For Jairzinho Rozenstruik, he says the loss to Francis Ngannou hurt but he was able to turn the page quickly with a TKO win over Junior dos Santos. If he can beat Gane, it would be a massive win for him and put him in a good position in the heavyweight division. However, he isn’t focusing on the belt at all this year and instead wants to be active and pick up some wins to cement his case as a legit contender.
“I want to be ready for the title fight, and I don’t think I’m ready right now,” Rozenstruik explained. “Why I’m saying that? I want to get going, I want to be in the washing machine, be in the Octagon, get that feeling – especially after last year, it was a really bad year for all of us. I can speak for a lot of fighters, too. I’m a fighter who likes to be busy – three or four fights a year. I had two fights (last year) because of the pandemic, so it took a little longer to get back in the octagon.”
