Stipe Miocic isn’t talking, but Jon Jones is — or at least tweeting — and Jones’ comments are providing clarity on when and if the two UFC fighters meet in the octagon for what should be a mega super fight.
UFC president Dana White said recently he was hopeful former heavyweight champion Miocic and former light heavyweight champion Jones (who’s bumping up to heavy) would meet at UFC 276 on July 2 in Las Vegas with the interim heavyweight title on the line.
Francis Ngannou, the heavyweight champion, is sidelined for the rest of 2022 with an injury. More on him in a bit.
White’s target date of July 2 for Miocic-Jones won’t happen, according to Jones.
On April 26, Jones tweeted: “Stipe is saying that he will be at his absolute peak in September. I’m disappointed but patient, I want the heavyweight goat at his absolute best. I’ll wait until September. No excuses.”
Stipe is saying that he will be at his absolute peak in September. I’m disappointed but patient, I want the heavyweight goat at his absolute best. I’ll wait until September. No excuses
— BONY (@JonnyBones) April 26, 2022
ESPN.com reported a Jones adviser said the UFC asked Jones to fight Miocic on July 2, but Miocic later said he would not be ready for the date.
“My coaches and their families were definitely excited for this fight. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed today,” Jones tweeted.
Miocic, who’s 39 and will be 40 if the fight with Jones takes place in the fall, hasn’t fought since he lost the belt to Ngannou via a second-round knockout in March 2021.
No heavyweight is more accomplished than Miocic. He owns the record for most consecutive title defenses (three) in heavyweight history, and the most total (four). He’s also a two-time champion.
One of those four title defenses came against Ngannou in Boston on Jan. 20, 2018. Miocic dominated and wore down Ngannou for five rounds. After that victory, he lost the belt to Daniel Cormier, then won it back from Cormier in their second fight.
In their trilogy bout, Miocic was in control throughout against Cormier and defended the belt for a record fourth time.
The next challenge for Miocic (20-4) appears to be Jones (26-1), who hasn’t fought since February 2020. The 34-year-old is regarded as one of the UFC’s all-time best pound-for-pound fighters, but he’s never fought at heavyweight.
A Miocic-Jones fight would generate plenty of buzz, interest and pay-per-view buys. It’s understandable why a bout of that magnitude would have White interested in booking it for Las Vegas in July. That fight would have no doubt been the headliner for UFC’s annual International Fight Week.
Meanwhile, Ngannou continues to recover from knee surgery. Thus, the reason why White wants to put an interim title tag on a Miocic-Jones fight.
There’s also this: Ngannou’s UFC contract status is reportedly rumored to be in limbo, and he recently said he’s eyeing WBC heavyweight boxing champ Tyson Fury in a crossover bout in 2023.
“We both want this fight, that’s clear, and we respect each other,” Ngannou told “The MMA Hour” podcast.
“Probably next year it will happen. I think it’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of our promotions, but we will sort this out at some point.”
Attempts to contact Miocic and his coach, Marcus Marinelli, were unsuccessful.
