LAS VEGAS – Jairzinho Rozenstruik won’t campaign for the next UFC heavyweight title shot even if victorious Saturday night.
Rozenstruik takes on Ciryl Gane in the main event at UFC Fight Night 186 in Las Vegas. Despite being ranked in the top five of the official UFC heavyweight rankings, Rozenstruik (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) doesn’t want the next title shot at heavyweight. Instead, he’d like to continue building his winning streak.
“For me, it doesn’t matter,” Rozenstruik told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Wednesday at UFC Fight Night 186 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.”
Rozenstruik is coming off a TKO win over Junior dos Santos last August at UFC 252. The stoppage of the former UFC champion put Rozenstruik back in the win column, as he had suffered a first-round knockout loss to Francis Ngannou last summer.
Rozenstruik admits the defeat to Ngannou hurt, but he was able to turn the page quickly. The Surinamese fighter wants to continue fighting and putting wins together, as he doesn’t feel ready to challenge for the belt just yet.
“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.”