UFC President Dana White is laying out the landscape of the heavyweight division. Recently, he announced that Francis Ngannou would fight Derrick Lewis in a rematch. At the same time, Jon Jones will more than likely make his heavyweight debut against former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
Jon Jones Deletes Stipe Tweets
Dana would like these matchups to be the marquee fights that steer the direction of the rest of the division. However, things may not play in his favor. Especially because Jones has been vocal on social media, he isn’t necessarily excited about the challenge in taking on Miocic, especially if the fight isn’t a title defense. Unfortunately, Jones has since deleted his tweets about the potential conflict.
“I’m not here to fight Stipe. But I will defend my belt against him no problem. I’m looking for the biggest draw and I’m willing to wait. 33 years old, in (I’m) a better athlete right now than I’ve even been before. I’m just going to keep training my a** off,” said Jones.
Dana White on Heavyweight Matchups
But if Dana has it his way, the matchup will happen anyways. White spoke to ESPN about the landscape of the heavyweight division.
“(Stipe Miocic) is the heavyweight G.O.A.T., the guy has put in the work and done all the things you need to do to be the heavyweight G.O.A.T., that’s a fact,” White said.
“I like that he’s fired up and wants to fight again. Listen, we could do Jon and Stipe. Jon’s one of the best to ever do it. If he wants to fight, we’ll get a fight done for him.”
The fight between Ngannou and Lewis is a direct result of the UFC failing to negotiate between Jones and Francis properly. Ironically, both Ngannu and Jon want the heavyweight fight to happen.
Fight fans will have to wait and see if Jon will take the fight against Stipe. But if his deleted tweets are any indication of his decision-making, he’ll probably sit out until Ngannou is available.