Heavyweight champion Jon Jones is gearing up to face Stipe Miocic, and the fighters are prepared for the face-off. The match, which will be the main event of the card, will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.
In anticipation of their bout, both fighters have had a lot to say in their various camps, but one particular word irked the champ. In a recent interview with the UFC Countdown program, Miocic said, “Bring it on, b*tch”, in response to Jones’s comments.
Jones did not take this comment lightly and he took to his social media handle to reply.
“Hiring black fighters to mimic me will not help you, Stipe,” Jones wrote. “And you shouldn’t have called me a bitch, the disrespect wasn’t necessary. Let’s play.”
Miocic laughed off Jones’s comment and said he was not worried about Jones’s outburst.
“Oh yeah, he was just talking to me, and I was talking to him. Like, you know, just bring it on.” Stipe Miocic stated to Ariel Helwani when asked about Jon Jones’ recent outburst. “I don’t know. Well, I’m sorry if I hurt his feelings. I was just fired up. Okay, I’m sorry if I was disrespectful to him anyway, it was just the heat of the moment. I’m sorry, I don’t know.”
He continued, “I haven’t hired anyone [to mimic Jon Jones in camp]. Yeah, I don’t know. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when you’re fighting someone? You get someone to mimic them? I don’t know, I don’t know, whatever. It is what it is. I’m not going to worry about him.”
In Jones’ absence, British heavyweight Tom Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich for an interim title and has successfully defended it once, defeating Curtis Blaydes this past July. Aspinall has repeatedly expressed interest in unifying the titles, though Jones’ sights have been locked exclusively on Miocic.
Jones’ refusal to acknowledge Aspinall—the No. 1 heavyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings—as the true contender for his title has ruffled more than a few feathers in the MMA community, with the all-time great being accused of “ducking” Aspinall.
