UFC heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik has hit back at the idea of a Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic interim title fight.

With Francis Ngannou out of action for the foreseeable future, due to his uncertain contract status as well as ongoing injury problems, the UFC needs to start planning ahead for the heavyweight division. Some believe that means a new interim champion needs to be crowned and if that’s going to happen, the two biggest names available are Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones.

The problem for many is that Miocic hasn’t fought since UFC 260 whereas Jones has been out of action since defeating Dominick Reyes at UFC 247.

Rozenstruik, who is set to return to action at UFC 273 against Marcin Tybura, had the following to say when asked about the idea of Jones battling Miocic for the interim strap.

https://twitter.com/jhkmma/status/1495751515591655434?s=21

“In my opinion all those guys should wait – Stipe, Jon Jones. They’ve been talking a lot about them but they don’t do nothing, come and fight and then you should earn your place. People that have been fighting, keeping the division running, those guys should get the shot for the interim title – not people sitting around, waiting, and blah blah blah all the time. Let’s go. We’re working, let’s fight.”

Rozenstruik hasn’t had the best of luck inside the Octagon in recent times with a 2-3 record in his last five, but with those defeats coming at the hands of Curtis Blaydes, Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou, it’s still clear to see that he’s an elite member of the top 15 who has the potential to climb back into contention.

Do you agree with Jairzinho Rozenstruik? If we do see Stipe Miocic battle Jon Jones for an interim belt, who would you consider to be the favourite? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!