Stipe Miocic has become the next heavyweight Michael Chandler.
The former UFC 265-pound champion, who turns 42 in just a few weeks, has not competed since his knockout loss to Francis Ngannou atop the UFC 260 pay-per-view (PPV) card back in March 2021.
That’s three years and four months (and counting).
Miocic (20-4) is waiting for reigning heavyweight titleholder, Jon Jones, to make his Octagon return following a pectoral injury that led to the cancellation of their UFC 295 title fight last fall.
A date for that eventual showdown has yet to be determined and is largely dependent on when “Bones” feels like returning to action.
Since Miocic has nothing else going on, he returned to the mound to throw out the first pitch for the Cleveland Indians Guardians, who went on to top the Chicago White Sox by a score of 7-6.
“Back to my roots for the day,” Miocic wrote on Twitter. “Thank you, Cleveland Guardians!”
Hopefully fans get Jones vs. Miocic before 2025.