Jon Jones comments on Dana White's unwavering support, lashes out at Stipe Miocic critics
Jon Jones seems to have reached his limit regarding the negative attention his matchup with Stipe Miocic has received. 'Bones' issued a lengthy statement on X, where he first expressed gratitude towards UFC CEO Dana White for relentlessly defending him and the matchup itself.
The second half of his statement though, amounted to Jones doing everything in his power to counter the common criticisms thrown his way for opting to face Miocic. He dismissed the all-time great heavyweight's knockout loss to ex-champion Francis Ngannou and even did so for the former's inactivity.
Jones wrote:
"Man, I appreciate the boss and the comments he made at last nights press conference. Sounds like I have some massive options on the table, an athletes dream. Right now I need to get back to focusing on the task at hand. Despite what some of the casuals think, Stipe is really no joke. It's crazy that we live in a world where you can go from the best heavyweight ever to washed up after a bad performance."
Not only did Jones minimize an opinion shared by a large chunk of the MMA fandom by characterizing it as only being shared by "some" of them, but he also took the opportunity to wax lyrical about his matchup with Miocic.
"The reality is Francis would've knocked out 98% of people on the planet that night, but somehow is Stipe is washed up? Stipe not competing in so long tells me that he's had plenty of time to heal and rebuild. Let me get back to focusing on the actual task at hand, that's what got me this far. My focus, I do what others can't."
All signs point to the Jones vs. Miocic bout happening, and barring another serious injury to either man, nothing will derail it, not even Tom Aspinall. However, if the UFC CEO is to be believed, 'Bones,' if he gets past Miocic, will not retire without facing Aspinall.
Jon Jones and Dana White haven't always seen eye to eye
While the unfailing support Jon Jones has received as of late from Dana White has been grating for fans, this wasn't always the case. A few years ago, when talk of a bout between 'Bones' and Francis Ngannou was rampant, the two men were at odds.
White had even claimed that Jones was demanding far too much money. The UFC CEO said:
"In one of those tweets he's saying that I tarnished his—I tarnished you? You've done a very good job of tarnishing you."
Check out Dana White criticizing Jon Jones (2:02):
Conversely, Jones accused White of trying to tarnish his reputation, which drew a dismissive response from the UFC CEO, who proceeded to reference the MMA great's checkered past.