As he prepares for a surgical procedure to address a pectoral tendon tear ahead of his Octagon return next month at UFC 295, incumbent heavyweight champion, Jon Jones has addressed his failed fight with ex-champion, Stipe Miocic, claiming he will be fighting the Ohio native in his immediate comeback to the sport.
Jones, a former two-time light heavyweight champion and current undisputed heavyweight champion, was slated to make his return to the Octagon next month in the main event of UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden, defending his heavyweight title in a homecoming clash with former two-time champion, Miocic in a long-awaited title affair.
However, earlier this week, UFC CEO, Dana White confirmed how Jones has been pulled from his November fight with Miocic, after tearing a pectoral tendon “off the bone” whilst wrestling ahead of his comeback bout.
And as a result, Miocic has also been pulled from the event, in favor of a makeshift interim title fight between Sergei Pavlovich, and Tom Aspinall in a new co-headlining bracket in New York City.
Jon Jones confirms plans to fight Stipe Miocic in UFC return
Over the course of the week to boot, the above-mentioned, White confirmed how the victor between Pavlovich and Aspinall would have to lay in wait to earn a shot against either Jones or Miocic – with the incumbent heavyweight champion now confirming his plan to fight the latter in his return from injury.
“I guess it will be Stipe (Miocic) and I at a later date, and that’s my plan,” Jon Jones said in a video posted on his official social media. “Hopefully, these other heavyweights, (Tom) Aspinall and Sergei (Pavlovich), put on a great show for you guys. I may even show up to the event [UFC 295] to watch. But, I love you all, and hey, your boy Jon Jones is doing OK.”
Snapping a three-year-plus hiatus from the sport back in March of this year, Endicott native, Jones scooped the vacant heavyweight title with a stunning opening round guillotine choke submission win over former interim champion, Ciryl Gane.
When do you expect to see Jon Jones feature under the banner of the UFC?