Jon Jones might as well free the division and drop his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight title if he and Stipe Miocic want to fight so badly.
UFC’s heaviest division got royally discombobulated at the end of 2023. All-time great mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, Jones, returned from his three-year hiatus and Light Heavyweight departure at UFC 285 in March 2023. In said return, he defeated Ciryl Gane via a first round guillotine choke (watch highlights) for the vacant undisputed title after the former champion, Francis Ngannou, left the promotion earlier that year to box and join Professional Fighters League (PFL).
Jones, 35, was booked to make his first title defense in his requested match up with former two-time champion, Miocic, at UFC 295 in November 2023. Miocic, 41, hasn’t fought since he lost the title to Ngannou via a second round knockout in March 2021. Unfortunately for him, he’s been kept waiting for his return after Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle that led to the creation of an interim title and crowning of Tom Aspinall. The Brit knocked out Sergei Pavlovich (watch highlights) in place of the would-be bout at UFC 295 and is now expected to remain second fiddle to Miocic despite his championship status.
“Tom’s a good champion, great champion,” Miocic said on JAXXON PODCAST. “He’s tough. Up-and-coming like, not up-and-coming, but young and hungry. We’ll get to that road when we have to but I want Jon Jones.
“I don’t care about the title. I just want to fight Jon Jones. It can be just me and him fighting,” he concluded. “Just don’t let him dictate what he wants [in our match up]. Any fight, not just Jon Jones. Don’t let them dictate what they want to do. You let them do what they want then that’s the end of the road for you. You’re f—ked.”
Jones has recently thrown out the idea of facing Light Heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, over a potential Aspinall pairing. Ultimately, Miocic isn’t going anywhere and is expecting his “Bones” bout to happen around a similar time frame to when it was last planned.
“Damn right [I’m next]. That’s what I want,” Miocic said. “I’m gonna wait. I don’t care, I want that fight.
“They (UFC) were talking about July, that passed on,” he concluded. “I’m thinking more — maybe November again in New York.”