UFC's Jon Jones Eyes Stipe Miocic Fight amid Tom Aspinall's Push for Unification Bout
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones made it abundantly clear on X that he intends to fight Stipe Miocic upon his return to the Octagon:
"I'm in the middle of a pretty clear decision… stick to exact and original plans, and fight the man with all the accolades. Or, completely disregard all of the Stipe training I've put in and fight another potential hype train that may not even be around in three years.
"I am not changing my plans for anyone. Stipe is over there as the best heavyweight ever working his ass off. I'm gonna give that man what he wants, and I'm going to claim another head. Whatever comes next comes next."
Miocic also wants the fight against Jones, stating as such on the Jaxxon Podcast on Thursday, per Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie:
"You're damn right, that's what I want," Miocic said. "I'm going to wait. I don't care. I want that fight."
The "potential hype train" is 31-year-old interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who seeks a title unification bout with Jones.
Miocic was set to fight Jones on Nov. 11, 2023 at UFC 295, but the latter fighter suffered a torn pectoral tendon during training and withdrew from the fight in late October. Jones has not fought since winning the then-vacant UFC heavyweight title over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023.
With respect to Jones, Aspinall doesn't look like a potential hype train. He's 14-3 overall and 7-1 in the UFC, with first-round finishes in six of his UFC fights. His last two bouts have been dominant first-round knockout wins over Marcin Tybura (1:13) and Sergei Pavlovich (1:09). The only loss in that stretch was to Curtis Blaydes, a match that ended in 15 seconds after Aspinall suffered a knee injury.
Of course, Jones is arguably the greatest fighter in UFC history, so Aspinall, Miocic or any other contender in the heavyweight division may be of no match to him, even though he's only had one fight in this weight class since moving up from light heavyweight.
Still, Aspinall could very well face Jones down the road in a unification bout. As of now, though, Jones is still rehabbing from his injury, and there's no timetable for when he might be back.
Per ESPN's Andreas Hale:
"There is no timetable for when Jones will return to the Octagon, but he did mention that he's in the beginning stages of getting into fight shape. Meanwhile, there is speculation that Aspinall will defend the interim title at UFC 304, which takes place at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England on July 27."
So it ultimately appears that Aspinall will be back first in the Octagon against a to-be-determined opponent. Aspinall said in March that he has his eye on Blaydes, ranked No. 4 on the heavyweight list.
"I'd like to fight Curtis Blaydes because when I fought him I got injured and that means that technically he wins and I don't like that," Aspinall said on his YouTube channel (h/t Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting).
"I want to be the winner, not Curtis Blaydes, so all respect to Curtis and everything. Like him, good guy, professionally I owe him a beating, so that's what I want to do next."
We'll see what happens down the road, but right now, it's clear that Jones want to honor his original commitment to Miocic and get in the Octagon with him when the time comes.