The highly anticipated fight between Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones for the UFC heavyweight title is just around the corner. Before this fight announcement, a portion of the UFC community wasn’t keen to see these two fight. Instead, they wanted interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to fight Jones. Recently, Miocic reacted to these demands from the MMA fans.
Miocic participated in an exclusive interview with MMA Fighting, where he explored a range of interesting topics. During the discussion, the former UFC heavyweight champion addressed the backlash from MMA fans who were calling for Jones to fight Aspinall. However, Miocic did not appear to react negatively to the critics. He stated that he and Jones were fighting because both they and the UFC wanted it to happen.
It wasn‘t my choice. It‘s a fight I wanted, and the UFC gave it to me. They didn‘t have to. They gave it to me.
Stipe Miocic via MMA Fighting
Interestingly, one of the reasons for the callouts in the Aspinall vs. Jones fight is the interim champion himself. Recently, the British fighter has delivered exceptional performances, finishing most of his fights in the first round. With his growing confidence, Aspinall appeared eager to face Jones in a title unification bout. As a result, a portion of fight fans supported the interim champion’s aspirations. However, Jones always preferred Miocic to be his first title defense fight.
“I just wanted to fight Jon. [Tom] Aspinall is a great fighter but I just wanted to fight Jon Jones. … It’s a fight I wanted and the UFC gave it to me. They didn’t have to.”@StipeMiocic responds to criticism over the Jon Jones fight booking at #UFC309
(🎥 @DamonMartin) pic.twitter.com/DNC1ZA0DS5
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) November 4, 2024
‘Bones‘ claimed the vacant UFC heavyweight title after defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. Immediately following his victory, Jones called out the former champion during his octagon interview. Miocic also views the upcoming fight with Jones as one of the greatest matchups in UFC history, referring to it as a legacy fight. With just a few days remaining until the bout, several prominent figures have begun previewing this captivating matchup.
UFC Hall of Famer claims Stipe Miocic has one advantage over Jon Jones
Stipe Miocic is considered one of the legends of the UFC community. Throughout his impressive career spanning over a decade, he has only been defeated four times. His most recent loss was against Francis Ngannou, which cost him his heavyweight title. Chael Sonnen, a UFC Hall of Famer and a witness to Miocic’s remarkable journey in the sport, offered an intriguing assessment ahead of Miocic’s upcoming fight against Jon Jones.
In the UFC community, Miocic is renowned for his exceptional striking ability. He has achieved remarkable victories over several formidable heavyweight fighters, showcasing his powerful knockout skills. In this context, Sonnen believes that Miocic will deliver another striking masterclass in his upcoming fight and reclaim the heavyweight title.
Do you think Jon Jones can knockout Stipe Miocic? And that is the one place where that size and power actually comes in. It would move in Stipe‘s favor…
Chael Sonnen on his official YouTube channel
Meanwhile, Jones is confident in his skills and has enlisted the help of an Olympic wrestling gold medalist to enhance his ground game. This indicates that Bones plans to focus on takedowns and controlling the fight on the ground against Miocic. It will be interesting to see whether Sonnen’s predictions or Jones’ wrestling abilities prove effective in his match against Miocic.
