Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic appear anxious to book their heavyweight title fight, even as all signs point towards a planned date in July no longer happening.
It appeared Jones and Miocic were on a collision course for UFC 290, which headlines the latest International Fight Week in Las Vegas, however it then appeared there might be a hiccup delaying the highly anticipated showdown. Jones eventually took a shot at Miocic saying the Ohio native “dodged” him all of 2022, and that Jon was now “hearing rumors that we may not be fighting this July.”
Miocic promised he would be ready for the summer, but then he saw an interview with UFC President Dana White on The Pat McAfee Show where White seemingly put the onus on Jones for the delays in the fight being booked.
“Poof, Jon Jones goes back underground and [he said], ‘Let me know when the Stipe fight’s done,’” White said. “He is a fascinating, talented artist to deal with. I haven’t heard a word out of him.”
That led to Miocic re-posting the interview with a caption stating:
“Weird… because last month you said I was the one running,” Miocic wrote.
As it turns out, Jones didn’t take too kindly to that message from Miocic. And while it took him a few days to respond, Jones unloaded on the longest reigning heavyweight champion in UFC history on Saturday night as the fighters continued to banter back-and-forth on social media.
“I lay low for a few weeks and then you convince yourself that I’m afraid of you,” Jones tweeted to Miocic. “Whatever you need to tell yourself old timer.”
I lay low for a few weeks and then you convince yourself that I’m afraid of you. Ha whatever you need to tell yourself old timer https://t.co/O7MpfMs1d8
— BONY (@JonnyBones) April 16, 2023
Jones followed up with a tweet teasing a potential trip to New York’s Madison Square Garden later in 2023 for the Miocic fight, dubbing it “my retirement fight.”
How cool would it be to spend my retirement fight dominating the greatest heavyweight of all time, in my home state at Madison Square Garden?
— BONY (@JonnyBones) April 16, 2023
While there’s always been a healthy amount of respect shared between Jones and Miocic, it certainly appears that the delay in booking their fight — whatever the reason may be — is starting to fire up both athletes.
As of now, it doesn’t look like Jones and Miocic will clash in July as originally expected and a later date in 2023 is more likely, although nothing has been officially offered much less accepted yet. White confirmed Saturday night at UFC Kansas City’s post-fight press conference that the UFC is targeting Madison Square Garden for Jones vs. Miocic.
That means these two have plenty of time to get chippy with each other before actually trading hands in the cage with the heavyweight title on the line.
