UFC 309’s Miocic is feeing great and ready to prove the doubters wrong when he steps off the sidelines to fight Jon Jones after three years away from the sport.
Stipe Miocic wants you to know he plans on knocking out Jon Jones at UFC 309, which takes place next weekend (Sat., Nov. 16, 2024) in New York City. What happens after that? He’s more tight-lipped about his mixed martial arts (MMA) future.
Miocic hasn’t stepped foot in the Octagon since a nasty 2021 loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 that cost him the Heavyweight title (watch highlights). At that time, the grizzled Cincinnati native was 38 years old.
Now, he’s 42, and he doesn’t give a darn what you think of his age or the gap in his resume.
“It’s been great,” Miocic said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “Giving my body a rest. In training I can take a day off and not worry. Like, if I’m beat up let’s just do something different today. I’m older, 42, I listen to my body more, it’s great.
“Honestly, it’s been a blessing,” Miocic continued. “There’s no question [I’m healthier than ever]. I’m faster, I’m stronger, I have more of my tools. I’m ready and there’s no question that time off [helped]. And people might not think that but I don’t care, I know where I’m at and I know what I’ve done.”
Miocic comes into his legacy-defining showdown with “Bones” with the confidence of a man who has more Heavyweight title fight wins than anyone else, despite being the betting underdog.
“I believe any fight I have, I’m the toughest match-up for them,” he said. “Because it’s not just me, it’s my coaches, we have always come with a great gameplan, they can improvise, they make everything right and as long as I go with the gameplan and listen, we’ll be good.
“First Francis [Ngannou] fight, underdog,” Miocic added. “Junior Dos Santos, underdog. A lot of fights I was the underdog. I’ll be fine.”
Many newer fans might not be giving Miocic a lot of love coming into this fight, but Jones has certainly been touting his opponent’s accomplishments.
“I think he’s a great fighter and I think he feels the same about me,” Miocic said. “We’re not going to feel the same way once we touch gloves, but we know it’s going to be a show, we’ll put on a good show.”
As for Jones still being untested when it comes to surviving Heavyweight power?
“I think he has — he’s fought the best in the world,” Miocic said. “But, I’m different and he’ll find out. I’m going to touch that chin. I told you that.”
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