Stipe Miocic has apologized for calling Jon Jones a “bitch.”
“I’m sorry if I hurt his feelings… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disrespect him. It was just in the heat of the moment.”
#UFC309pic.twitter.com/uA0OQ6xiJV
— Championship Round (@ChampRDS)
November 11, 2024
A few days before their championship showdown, there’s a bit of tension between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.
Jones will defend his heavyweight title against Miocic in the main event of UFC 309 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The two heavyweights had until recently respected each other throughout the build-up. Miocic unusually called Jones “bh” on a recent episode of the UFC 309 countdown show, which later caught the heavyweight champion’s attention.
The former light heavyweight champion felt disrespected and issued a warning to Miocic online. Jones also jokingly advised Miocic not to hire a black training partner to imitate him. “Hiring a black fighter to imitate me will not help Stipe,” Jones wrote. “And you shouldn’t have called me a bitch, no disrespect. Let’s play.”
UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic. Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+. Order now!
Hiring a black fighter to imitate me won’t help Stipe. And you shouldn’t have called me a bitch, there was no need to belittle. let’s play.
#UFCCountdown
— BONY (@JonnyBones)
November 11, 2024
Miocic was made aware of Jones’ comments during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s show. The former ignored Mr Jones’ warnings and apologized for hurting his feelings. Firefighters based in Ohio claim it was simply a spur of the moment reaction.
“Oh yeah, he was just talking to me and I was talking to him,” Miocic said. “Well, look, bring it on. I don’t know. Well, I’m sorry if I hurt his feelings, I was just getting carried away. Anyway, I’m sorry if I was rude to him, it’s just that It was just the heat of the moment. Sorry, I don’t understand.”
Jones and Miocic were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 295 until last year when “Bones” was sidelined with an injury. Jones easily won the heavyweight title against Cyril Gane in his return fight after three years at UFC 285 in March 2023. Meanwhile, Miocic has not fought since losing his title to Francis Ngannou by knockout in 2021.
