During a pre-fight press event ahead of UFC 309, Jon Jones refused to shake hands with opponent, Stipe Miocic – urging the Ohio native against mentioning his kids again in the future, with the Rochester native bringing up an alleged prior barb fired at him.
Jones, a former two-time light heavyweight champion, returns to action this weekend at Madison Square Garden, defending his heavyweight crown in a title pairing against former two-time gold holder, Miocic.
Sidelined since March of last year, former pound-for-pound number one, Jon Jones managed to land the vacant heavyweight championship with a stunning first round win over former interim champion, Ciryl Gane, submitting him with a guillotine choke stoppage.
As for Miocic, the former gold holder has yet to enter the Octagon since his title rematch with Francis Ngannou three years ago at the UFC Apex facility, dropping a thunderous second round knockout loss to the Cameroonian in their re-run.
And seated alongside Miocic at tonight’s pre-fight press conference in ‘The Big Apple’, home town favorite, Jon Jones claimed the former champion had mocked his past indiscretions with the law by pointing to his children, before taking umbrage with Miocic labelling him a “b*tch” in an offhanded remark ahead of the pairing.
Jon Jones refuses to shake hands with Stipe Miocic
Facing off with his opponent as the final of three pairings sat on the stage, Jones and Miocic were kept at distant by UFC CEO, Dana White – with the former electing to refuse a handshake offer from Miocic, before saying, “Never mention my kids again.”
Himself refusing to welcome a fight to unify the titles against current interim champion, Tom Aspinall after his UFC 309 return, Jones claimed he would prefer other pairings first and foremost, namely Alex Pereira, Jamahal Hill, and even Derrick Lewis.