The undefeated Frenchman is currently more than a 2-to-1 favorite over Rozenstruik, according to betting lines before the heavyweights’ pivotal clash in the division.
While Gane has certainly looked impressive since arriving in the UFC, Rozenstruik has matched or exceeded him in almost every category, including wins over two former champions and a devastating knockout against a one-time title contender.
Still, Gane has received a ton of attention lately. Some fans believe he’s the future of the division. None of that chatter seems to bother Rozenstruik, who more or less just shrugs off Gane’s favorite status on Saturday night.
“He has attention, that’s why this fight makes more sense,” Rozenstruik said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “He’s the favorite. Everyone thinks he has a good chance against me, and now it’s my turn to prove them wrong and go in there and put him down. Do what I do.
“It doesn’t bother me in any kind of way. It’s fighting and everybody has their favorite fighters. Maybe they see something in him they didn’t see in me. Right now, I’m ready to show them why I’m the favorite and why I deserve to be at the top. It wasn’t given to me. I earned it, and I’m ready to keep my place and move forward up in the rankings until I get a shot at the title.”
Of course, Rozenstruik is no stranger to hype when it comes to his own performances in the UFC.
The heavy-handed knockout artist from Suriname demolished his first four opponents inside the octagon with only two of those making it past the opening round. Rozenstruik did suffer a loss to current title contender Francis Ngannou this past May but he’s even used that as a learning lesson as he moves forward in his career.
“After the fight with Ngannou, we took a step back and worked on a lot of things that we used to work on but we worked a little harder,” Rozenstruik explained. “For me, it was more like maybe we should play a little more. I went to pressure him right away to create the fight right away, but maybe I should go a little easier, bounce a little bit, make him tired a little bit.
“You always have a plan, if it doesn’t go your way, you go back and hope next time it works.”
Facing that kind of adversity has made Rozenstruik a better fighter, but he knows Gane hasn’t had to deal with that yet. In fact, Gane has rarely run into any kind of trouble through the first seven wins of his career, and Rozenstruik is anxious to test him to see how he reacts when a fight isn’t going his way.
“This guy has a lot of hype on his back right now,” Rozenstruik said. “We’re in the heavyweight division, everybody’s dangerous, but he’s doing a good job. He wins his fights. He has an impressive record. He’s working hard and he deserves a chance. Right now, he’s going to face me.
“I don’t think [he’ll stand with me]. I don’t think so, but we will see. Everything is improving. It’s MMA. We have a lot of options in the fight. We’re going to what presents itself, what opportunities in this fight to make a decision to win this fight. I’m ready for it. I’m excited. I’m happy that he took the fight and took a chance to fight against me.”
With a chance to compete in another main event, Rozenstruik always relishes the chance to make a big impact, although even with a win he’s not exactly sure what the future holds for him in the division.
While he’s currently ranked No. 4 at heavyweight by the UFC, Ngannou is already set to fight for the title in March against reigning champion Stipe Miocic with the winner then moving onto face Jon Jones later this year.
Some fighters have argued against Jones getting an immediate title shot in his first fight at heavyweight but don’t count Rozenstruik among them because he understands why that’s happening.
“I’m OK with that – I skipped the line, too,” Rozenstruik said. “I jumped in from No. 14, beat Alistair Overeem, became No. 6. Lost to Francis and then beat Junior and became No. 3. For me, it’s fine if I have to face those guys. To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, and you’ve got to be fighting everyone in the heavyweight division, especially in the top-15, to improve yourself and to see how your training works.
“I’m fine in the meanwhile fighting other guys and when the title shot comes, I’ll be ready and I’ll put on a great performance and even become champion.”
Not getting lost in the noise of things out of his control is part of what’s helping Rozenstruik stay focused on the task at hand ahead of his return on Feb. 27. He has almost the exact same attitude when asked about a prediction for Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 in March.
“For me, I actually don’t care,” Rozenstruik. “The goal is what we’re after. It doesn’t matter who wins. If Francis wins, it’s going to be nice, we’ll get the rematch after he fights [Jon] Jones. The title is on the line so it’s more motivation, which is nicer but actually who wins after March 27, I don’t care. Just wish both of them the best of luck.”
As for his own fight, Rozenstruik isn’t going to offer any wild predictions, but he obviously expects an exciting outcome once the punches start flying on Saturday night.
“We’re going to see who lands first,” he said. “It’s the heavyweight division. If you go and bang with someone, somebody is going to get caught. That’s what happened to me in the Francis fight. We’ll see what happens in this fight.”
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