UFC heavyweight contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik is calling for an interim heavyweight title fight against Francis Ngannou to headline UFC 249.
UFC president Dana White continues to be adamant the show will go on despite Khabib Nurmagomedov making it clear he cannot compete at UFC 249 against Tony Ferguson. The promotion is reportedly in talks with Ferguson and Justin Gaethje about a lightweight fight between them to headline the event, but so far nothing has been made official.
Rozenstruik vs. Ngannou was set to headline UFC Columbus, but that event had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The promotion is said to be considering adding the fight to UFC 249 should that event still go down. But with no title fight between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, there doesn’t appear to be any main event.
Rozenstruik is now suggesting he fight Ngannou in the new main event of UFC 249 with an interim title on the line. Here’s what the heavyweight contender wrote on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-hsEO8HLei/
“Fawaka @DanaWhite! I heard you need a new main card for #UFC249? How about an interim heavyweight belt? It’s about time! We’re ready.”
On paper, this would be a really fun fight between two of the heavyweight division’s top contenders. The dilemma with the UFC heavyweight division right now is that champion Stipe Miocic is currently on the shelf with an eye injury and there’s no timetable for his trilogy fight against rival Daniel Cormier. Miocic is also on the frontlines as a firefighter against the coronavirus and that’s his biggest fight at the moment.
But if the UFC is really struggling to find the main event for UFC 249, then perhaps Rozenstruik’s idea of an interim title fight against Ngannou is more realistic than it may appear at first glance.
Would you like to see Jairzinho Rozenstruik fight Francis Ngannou for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 249?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/3/2020.