Stipe Miocic (20-4) recently responded to criticism for booking a title shot against Jon Jones (27-1) at UFC 309.
Miocic was originally scheduled to challenge Jones for the heavyweight title at UFC 295 in November 2023, before “Bones” was sidelined with an injury. Tom Aspinall knocked out Sergei Pavlovic in a hasty interim title fight on the same card.
Aspinall initially called for Jones to be stripped of the title, but later began rallying for a title unification match against Jones. “Honey Badger” previously defended his interim strap with a knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in July of this year. However, Jones remained adamant about fighting Miocic upon his return, leading to him being booked for the main event at UFC 309 on November 16th at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Miocic last fought at UFC 260 in 2021, where he lost the strap in a brutal KO to Francis Ngannou. While many consider Aspinall a legitimate title contender, the UFC defended Miocic’s status as perhaps the greatest heavyweight of all time. As for Miocic, he just asked for a shot and the UFC gave him one without doing anything. Miocic also believes more people want to see this fight than ‘Bones’ fight against Aspinall because of the shared heritage between him and Jones.
UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic. Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+. Order now!
“It wasn’t my choice. This is the fight I wanted and the fight the UFC gave me,” Miocic told MMAFighting.com. “They didn’t have to do that. They gave it to me…I think people want to see it. A lot more people watched that fight than he did against Aspinall. I think he wants to.”
Aspinall may not be able to face either Jones or Miocic. Both fighters have repeatedly hinted at retirement following their fight at UFC 309. Jones’ longtime coach, Brandon Gibson, also recently said Jones is approaching this as his “last rodeo.” Miocic is working on it as well, but it’s nothing new for him.
“I think every game, I’m always preparing for the last game,” Miocic said. “I always thought about retiring after my first fight in the UFC. I always say that. Who wants to get beaten up for 10, 12 weeks and come back and do it again? I love what I do, and I enjoy it. So, you know, the job that’s in front of me right now is John. That’s all I care about. That’s what I’m thinking.”
