The highly anticipated heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic appears to have a date.
Jon Jones demanded a fight with Stipe Miocic after his convincing victory at UFC 285, and the heavyweight agreed. However, it now appears that the highly anticipated matchup may not go as planned.
When Jones was slated to make his comeback last year, a confrontation between the two was the initial plan. Since the fight was never actually held, “Bones” recently made a comeback to the octagon at UFC 285 and decisively defeated Ciryl Gane to claim the vacant heavyweight title.
In his most recent contest, “Bones” put on a show for as long as it lasted, defeating the strong Ciryl Gane to finish the first round with ease. The victory gave the Hall of Famer the heavyweight title, adding him to the group of UFC two-division world champions as the most recent.
It appeared that Miocic and the fight were scheduled to take place at UFC 290 on July 8 during International Fight Week. Jones, however, recently asserted that he had heard allegations that Miocic had withdrawn from the UFC 290 fight.
The heavyweight UFC champion wrote:
“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.”
With his response, Miocic dispelled any scepticism and confirmed the date of July 8.
Jones has also charged Miocic with avoiding him for a fight at UFC 282 in December.
The former heavyweight champion’s most recent remarks will undoubtedly calm anxious supporters.
Since losing his title to Francis Ngannou in 2021 via savage knockout, Miocic hasn’t competed. Even though he recently suffered a defeat, Miocic is still regarded as the greatest heavyweight in the history of the division. A confrontation between the two GOATs would be a turning point in both men’s careers.
The 40-year-old was 8-1 before falling to Francis Ngannou in March 2021, with his lone defeat coming to Daniel Cormier, a fight he went on to avenge.
Stipe Miocic receives a help offer from Sean Strickland to defeat Jon Jones in a prospective UFC 290 match.
Due to the UFC heavyweight champion’s troubled past, Sean Strickland has been a vocal opponent of Jon Jones. Strickland thinks that the MMA G.O.A.T challenger should never be let to compete again because of his numerous doping issues, making his accomplishments meaningless. Whatever Strickland may think, Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic appear to be headed for a fight. Currently, Strickland wants to assist Miocic in defeating Jones and has even offered to serve as the current champion’s “punching bag.”
The middleweight, 32, spoke to Helen Yee lately and said:
“Stipe [Miocic], bro, please, man. Do it for me,” he continued. “Stipe, if you want to train, come here, I’ll be your punching bag, we can fight every day. Whatever the f*** you need, Stipe. I’m your man. Come train with me. Come to Xtreme Couture. I f****** got you. I’ll wrestle you all day long, dude. All day long.”
When were the heavyweights Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic allegedly going to square off?
Jon Jones was said to be defending his heavyweight title for the first time against a fighter many considered to be the best the division had ever seen on July 8 during International Fight Week.
UFC 290 is reportedly taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas; however, no fights have been confirmed for the event. The rising middleweight prospect Bo Nickal may already be scheduled for a fight on that day.
Traesean Gore revealed on social media that the UFC has spoken to him about taking on the dominant Bo Nickal at UFC 288, but nothing official has been released as of yet.
