Getty Dana White & Jon Jones
Dana White is still eyeing a fight with Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, and the UFC president thinks it “makes sense” to do it in Las Vegas or New York.
Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou continues to sit on the shelf as he recovers from knee surgery and is expected to be out of action until next year. Because of that, the promotion is interested in pitting the two former UFC champions against each other in the meantime.
And while speaking with MMA Underground’s John Morgan, White pointed to the match happening later in 2022.
“I agree with you 100% that he [Jon Jones] is still the greatest of all time,” White said via Low Kick MMA. “Yeah, obviously, we’ve got Francis right now, his knee, we’re waiting on that, see how long that’s going to be. Then, you know, him and Stipe [Miocic] probably makes sense. Either Vegas or New York.”
“Bones” versus the former heavyweight champion would be a headlining act for a pay-per-view event. The UFC typically holds a PPV in New York City in November, and a few PPV cards in Vegas during the fall and early winter.
While speaking with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in March, White also shared his interest in potentially throwing up the interim heavyweight strap for Jones and Miocic to contend for.
“I haven’t thought about it at all, but yeah, it sounds like something we would do,” White said via MMA Junkie. “Not until we know what Francis is gonna do or what’s gonna happen, but if that’s the case, if he ends up sitting out for a year, Jon could come right in and fight for a title.”
Jones Recently Said Miocic Would Be Ready to Fight in September
There was a lot of talk in the MMA community a few months back of Jones and Miocic headlining UFC 276 on July 2 to cap off the promotion’s International Fight Week. The match never came to fruition, however.
In late April, Bones tweeted that Miocic would be in “peak” condition to fight in September, which meant they wouldn’t meet this summer. “Stipe is saying that he will be at his absolute peak in September,” Jones wrote on April 26. “I’m disappointed but patient, I want the heavyweight goat at his absolute best. I’ll wait until September. No excuses.”
A fan reacted to Jones, tweeting: “man that sucks.” Jones, who seemingly wanted to fight this summer, responded: “It really does man, my coaches and their families were definitely excited for this fight. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed today.”
Daniel Cormier Sees Jones Beating Miocic
Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier is no stranger to Jones and Miocic. He fought both combatants, going 1-2 against Miocic and 0-2 against Jones. His second defeat to Bones was overturned to a no-contest, however, after Jones failed a drug test for a performance-enhancing drug.
Speaking recently with The Mac Life, “DC” shared that he’s leaning toward Jones beating Miocic.
“[They’re] both extremely tough,” Cormier said via the outlet.
“They’re both tremendous mixed martial artists. But here’s the thing. And I will say this as truthfully as I possibly can. When I lost to Jon Jones, I did everything in the rematch in the first fight, and I lost. I did everything possible in that rematch to win and the dude still got me. I gave my absolute best in training, in preparation, I was as sure as about myself going into that fight as I’ve ever been.
“Stipe Miocic, very very good,” DC continued. “But I couldn’t do all the things that I did for those Jones fights. I feel like if I fought Stipe Miocic as prepared as I was the second fight with Jones, I never would lose to him. I don’t feel that way with Jones.
“I still believe I would win fights, but I do believe that he could win fights. I do feel like if I was prepared to the best of my ability, I would never lose to Stipe and I really respect Stipe. I just think that the matchup is not good for him. Great fight. I’m excited about it but when I look at these two, I don’t know if Miocic gets past Jones. I don’t like Jones, but he can fight.”