Stipe Miocic isn’t bothered by fan criticism leading up to his return to the Octagon.
Miocic will return after a hiatus of more than three years to challenge Jon Jones for the heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 309 on November 16th at Madison Square Garden in New York. The matchup has been widely criticized, with Jones insisting on fighting Miocic and interim champion Tom Aspinall on the sidelines. While Miocic has established himself as perhaps the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, many believe Aspinall is the legitimate title contender at this point.
But Miocic shut down all the chatter from his detractors heading into UFC 309. The Ohio-based firefighter also admitted that he may have been influenced by fan criticism early in his career. Miocic recently recalled exactly the time in his career when he learned to tune out outside noise. After losing by technical knockout in the second round to Stefan Struve in 2012, Miocic realized how little criticism from strangers can take.
UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic. Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+. Order now!
“I think it was after the loss to Strube,” Miocic recently told Shaquiel Majuli. “Then after a few months I just stopped caring. Nobody cared. I was like, ‘I don’t know these people.’ They don’t know me. who cares? ‘It’s just noise outside. Just get on with your life and don’t worry about what everyone has to bring to the table…like F’em. ”
Miocic won the heavyweight title with a first-round stoppage win over Fabricio Werdum in 2016 and defended it three times, the most in UFC heavyweight history, before losing the belt to Daniel Cormier in 2018. Miocic quickly regained the title. He had a rematch with “DC” and defended his title again in the trilogy, but suffered a brutal knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in 2021.
Meanwhile, Jones returned to the Octagon for the first time in three years in 2023, easily defeating Cyril Gane via first-round submission to win the heavyweight title in his divisional debut. The former light heavyweight champion was scheduled to defend the strap against Miocic at UFC 295 in November 2023, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.
