Former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic has responded to Jon Jones.
‘Bones’ called out the former titleholder after submitting Ciryl Gane earlier this month at UFC 285. The victory handed Jones his first in the weight class, and also the heavyweight title. Francis Ngannou famously vacated the championship after parting ways with the UFC in January.
For his part, Miocic has been out of action since his rematch with ‘The Predator’ in 2021. In that outing, he lost by a vicious second-round knockout. Over two years on from that defeat, the heavyweight contender is ready to return to the octagon.
Prior to UFC 285, Miocic had already revealed that he was promised a title shot. Furthermore, the former champion stated that the promotion was targeting the matchup for International Fight Week in July. It’s worth noting that Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez have also been linked to that UFC 290 date.
However, earlier today, Jon Jones scared fans with a series of tweets. The heavyweight champion stated that Stipe Miocic had ducked him for the majority of last year. Jones also seemed to hint that the former champion wasn’t agreeing to their targeted July matchup.
Luckily, the former champion has put those thoughts to bed. Miocic tweeted a fanmade poster of himself and Jones for July. Along with that, he attached a clip of himself training combined with a clip from the film ‘The Incredible Weight of Massive Talent’, which has been popular on TikTok.
— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) March 16, 2023
See you in July. pic.twitter.com/lH7ZzemPCH
— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) March 16, 2023
“Yo @stipemiocic only you the UFC and I know the truth, you dodged me all of 2022 – July, September & December. Now I’m hearing rumors that we may not be fighting this July.”
“See you in July.”
What do you make of this news? Are you excited about Stipe Miocic vs. Jon Jones? Who do you think will win? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!