Getty Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic
Reigning UFC heavyweight king Jon Jones wants to fight ex-champion Stipe Miocic in July. And that timeline works for Miocic, too.
“Bones” became the undisputed champion at UFC 285 earlier this month after stopping No. 1-ranked contender Ciryl Gane with a sub-three-minute guillotine choke. When speaking with color commentator Joe Rogan inside the Octagon, Jones challenged Miocic to be his first title defense in July at UFC 290.
Miocic — who many regard as the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time — went onto “The MMA Hour” the week after to share his willingness to meet Jones. But, fast forward a few weeks and Jones took to Twitter to accuse Miocic of ducking him and the proposed July 8 date.
“Yo @stipemiocic only you the UFC and I know the truth, you dodged me all of 2022 – July, September & December,” Jones wrote. “Now I’m hearing rumors that we may not be fighting this July.”
“Bro it’s simple, either you believe in yourself or you don’t,” he continued. “Either you want this challenge or you don’t. Stop wasting everyone’s time.”
‘See You in July,’ Miocic Is in For July
Miocic wasted no time getting back to Jones, writing, “See you in July.” He also shared a fight poster featuring himself and Bones as the International Fight Week headliner. See Miocic’s tweet below via the embedded tweet:
@JonnyBones See you in July.
If Miocic receives a title shot next, he’ll be only one of a handful of UFC combatants to receive a chance at gold while coming off a loss. Miocic last competed in March 2021 when he put his belt on the line against Francis Ngannou. Unfortunately for Miocic, he couldn’t relive history by besting Ngannou for a second time. Instead, he was knocked out in the second round of their UFC 260 main event. Miocic hasn’t competed since.
The UFC has yet to officially confirm Jones vs. Miocic for UFC 290.
Miocic Plans to Hand Jones His First True Octagon Defeat, ‘Wasn’t Ready’ for Jones’ Quick Domination of Gane
Although Jones has one defeat on his record, he’s considered undefeated by most. He was disqualified during a fight with Matt Hamill in 2009 after he used illegal elbows while landing ground strikes. It was a contest Bones was dominating, and he appeared en route to a TKO victory before the referee stopped the action.
When speaking with Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour,” Miocic declared himself as the first man who will hand Jones a legitimate defeat. “I’m going to win, there’s no question,” Miocic said. “There’s no question.”
“I know that [he’s never lost,]” Miocic added. “It sucks that he’s going to lose. He’s going [to have] a big ‘one.’ I’m not going to imagine it, it’s going to happen.”
Miocic admitted during the interview that he “was not ready” to see Jones cut through Gane so quickly.
“I thought I was going with Ciryl in the beginning of the week, but the more I talked about it with other people, the more I thought about it, I thought it was more even,” Miocic said. “I just said if Ciryl keeps it on the feet, he picks him apart, him all day. It’s still going to be a great fight, but I thought if Jon used his wrestling it’s going to be a long night for Ciryl. I was not ready for that. I thought it was going to be a big war for five rounds, but I was definitely wrong. Good for Jon.”