Francis Ngannou Believes Fight Against Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 249 Should be For Interim Title
UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou is on a path to heavyweight gold. On his quest, he’ll run into Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 249. Ngannou got a taste of title contention when he faced Stipe Miocic at UFC 220. However, he came up short during the fight. Now, Francis is eager to get another shot at fighting for UFC gold. So, Ngannou feels like his fight against Rozenstruik at UFC 249 should be for an interim title.
As mentioned above, Ngannou got his first crack at UFC gold at UFC 220. During the matchup, Stipe Miocic was able to neutralize Ngannou’s power with forwarding pressure. At points it the fight, it looked clear that Francis was thrown into the fire prematurely. Miocic left Boston as the first UFC heavyweight champion to defend the title three consecutive times.
Ngannou Speaks on the Interim Title
Six months later, Ngannou lost back to back fights for the only time in his career with a disappointing decision loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC 226. But since then, Francis has been on a three-fight win streak beating top contenders in Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, and Junior Dos Santos. Because of that, Ngannou feels like it’s time for him to get another title shot. He spoke with MMA Junkie to describe his stance on wanting an interim title fight.
“Regarding the situation (The heavyweight title being defended), yes, this is what it should be, and also, me and my manager, we suggested that to the UFC but they don’t sound interested about it,” said Ngannou.
“But if you look at the fact – in August, it’s gonna be one year since the last time they fight for the title in the heavyweight division.
Making the Fight
Do fans believe that the heavyweight clash should be for an interim title? Or, should Ngannou focus on winning this fight so he can rematch Stipe Miocic at a later date for the real title?
