UFC's Jairzinho Rozenstruik Says Jon Jones Doesn't Deserve Interim Title Fight

Jon Jones' first fight at heavyweight should NOT be for an interim title ... UFC heavyweight contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik adamantly tells TMZ Sports 'cause it just ain't fair!

We asked 34-year-old, 6'3", 255 lb. fighter -- ranked 8th in the division -- about the possibility 34-year-old Bones Jones gets a crack at an interim belt ... a fight that would be his first in the division.

"I'm hearing people calling for an interim title. What is fair, what is unfair, who is gonna fight for it?" Jairzinho asked.

"And, then I heard names like Stipe [Miocic] and Jon Jones. I still think that's unfair to put them in an interim fight instead of real fighters who are keeping the division up and running."

Of course, Jones hasn't fought since beating Dominick Reyes in February 2020. Jon's plan was to move up a weight class and fight champion Francis Ngannou, but the parties couldn't agree on money.

Instead, Ngannou fought and beat former training partner Ciryl Gane. Unfortunately, Francis hurt his leg in the lead up to the fight (and 5 rounds with Gane didn't help), and now needs surgery on his leg.

Often, a UFC interim belt is created when a champ is injured for an extended period.

Dana White was asked in March whether Jon could lock down a fight with Stipe for the title, and the UFC honcho responded ... "I haven’t thought about it at all, but yeah, it sounds like something we would do.”

FYI, Stipe hasn't fought since losing to Francis in March 2021.

We also asked Rozenstruik -- who has only 3 career professional losses -- about his clash with #7 ranked contender, Alexander Volkov, at UFC Fight Night Saturday night. Jairzinho has some advice ... don't blink.

"I definitely think it's a first-round, second-round fight. I definitely think it's a first-round, second-round fight."

Rozenstruik also talked about the prospect of him fighting Jones ... though, he doesn't believe it makes sense for Jon due to Jairzinho's awesome power.

And, down the line, JR, who lost to Ngannou just 20 seconds into their UFC 249 fight, would like to make things right with the Predator.