Jon Jones has accused Stipe Miocic of avoiding their rumored heavyweight matchup.
At UFC 285, Jones quickly disposed of Ciryl Gane to secure the vacant heavyweight championship. During his post-fight interview, ‘Bones’ called out Miocic for his first title defense while the former heavyweight king was sitting cageside. Since then, the Ohio native has persistently stated his interest in the matchup happening at International Fight Week in July.
Despite Miocic claiming to want the fight, Jones believes he’s lying to the public. ‘Bones’ went on Twitter and had this to say:
“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.”
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.— BONY (@JonnyBones) March 16, 2023
Jones followed up with another tweet saying:
“Bro it’s simple, either you believe in yourself or you don’t. Either you want this challenge or you don’t. Stop wasting everyone’s time.”
Bro it’s simple, either you believe in yourself or you don’t. Either you want this challenge or you don’t. Stop wasting everyone’s time.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) March 16, 2023
Before being matched up against Gane, Jones was reportedly supposed to fight Francis Ngannou or Miocic. Ngannou decided to leave the promotion, and the former UFC heavyweight champion didn’t get the matchup for undisclosed reasons. Since ‘Bones’ made the ducking accusations, the 40-year-old heavyweight legend has responded with a simple message.
Stipe Miocic responds to Jon Jones’ callout
Although everything Stipe Miocic says is not guaranteed to be valid, he’s been consistent with his claims of wanting to fight Jon Jones in July. With that said, there seems to be a miscommunication as Jones believes the former heavyweight champion is avoiding the matchup.
Miocic responded to Jones on Twitter by saying:
“See you in July.”
See you in July. pic.twitter.com/lH7ZzemPCH
— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) March 16, 2023
Miocic last fought in March 2021, losing the UFC heavyweight championship against Francis Ngannou. After the brutal knockout loss, the Ohio native took the last two years off to recover and work as a full-time firefighter. Although it’s unclear how many fights he has left, the 40-year-old plans to regain the heavyweight throne in his next Octagon appearance.
Meanwhile, Jones demolished the UFC light heavyweight division before moving up to heavyweight. ‘Bones’ needed a new challenge, which he thought would come against Ciryl Gane. Now that he’s silenced the doubters after a three-year layoff, the reigning heavyweight king plans to take out Miocic in his first title defense.
