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UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is okay with fighting Jon Jones next assuming Miocic beats Francis Ngannou this weekend at UFC 260, but the fight the champ really would love to make happen is a boxing showdown against either Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua. Miocic revealed that information in his interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.
“Oh yeah, I’d love to. Absolutely,” Miocic said when asked about participating in a boxing match vs. Fury or Joshua next.
When asked why the idea of a boxing match against Fury or Joshua seemed to intrigue him so much more than facing UFC superstar Jones, Miocic basically said it’s because it’s something new and challenging.
“It’s different. It’s a different fight. Boxing is all about technique, but I’ll also make it a fight,” Miocic said.
So the UFC heavyweight champion wants to face either of boxing’s heavyweight champions in a boxing ring next. Miocic made it clear he didn’t expect either boxing champ to step inside the cage with him for an MMA fight. Instead, the UFC champ wants to beat those guys at their own game.
“Absolutely. It’s more of a fair fight,” Miocic said.
If Miocic beats Ngannou at UFC 260 and the champ gets the next fight he wants most next, it means Jones will have to wait for his show at heavyweight gold.
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Miocic vs. Jones?
Miocic said he doesn’t know how close the UFC actually came to pitting him against Jones over Ngannou for this upcoming fight.
Similar to when Miocic talked to Heavy last year, the champ said all that matters to him is who the UFC wants him to fight next.
“I don’t know. I don’t do contract negotiations. I’m not an agent. I’m a fighter,” Miocic said.
When asked whether there would be any part of him that would get excited about facing Jones next, Miocic admitted there was some truth to that but that he wasn’t the type to express those thoughts or feelings until UFC 260 was over.
“When I win on Saturday, yes…But I’m focused on winning Saturday,” Miocic said.
Miocic wouldn’t talk too much about his potential showdown vs. Jones, but he did say he would use the same strategy of making it a fight that he would use in his potential boxing match vs. Fury or Joshua.
“Jon Jones would be the same way,” Miocic said.
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UFC 260: Miocic vs. Ngannou 2
UFC 260: Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 takes place at UFC APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 27. The UFC pay-per-view event is being billed as the “biggest, baddest rematch” ever, and the winner should be on his way to facing Jones next in the latter’s first appearance as a UFC heavyweight.
At least, that’s what UFC president Dana White has repeatedly told the media he wants to see happen next, and it seems like what Jones wants to do, too.
But Miocic has his eye on a superfight boxing match vs. Fury or Joshua, so everyone will just have to wait and see how all that goes.
Besides, Miocic has a heavy task ahead of him in Ngannou. Miocic defeated Ngannou by unanimous decision in 2018, but both fighters have improved since that first encounter.
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