Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones wants to (finally) make his heavyweight debut opposite former 265-pound kingpin Stipe Miocic in the upcoming UFC 282 pay-per-view (PPV) main event on Sat., Dec. 10, 2022 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
So what’s the hold up?
“I’m preparing to fight Stipe on December 10 in Las Vegas,” Jones, 35, previously wrote on Twitter. “Not really sure what’s going on between Stipe and the UFC but I’m ready to compete! I’m going to control what I can and stay in shape.”
“I’m bringing all the heat Stipe Miocic, I got that fire you could never put out,” Jones continued in a recent tweet. “Sign the contract.”
The “fire” jab is a reference to Miocic’s toilet cleaning firefighting duties in Cleveland.
The Jones-Miocic fight has been rumored, teased, abandoned, then rumored again for almost (but not quite) as long as Jones’ promise of moving up in weight. “Bones” hasn’t seen action since narrowly defeating Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 back in early 2020.
Miocic, now 40, hasn’t exactly been lighting the world on fire in recent years. The former heavyweight champ has competed just once over the last two-plus years, a knockout loss to reigning 265-pound titleholder Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021.
UFC President Dana White does not expect to see Jones until early 2023.