Jon Jones tweets-and-deletes date and venue for Stipe Miocic fight, reacts to interim title bout set for UFC 304
Jon Jones recently took to social media to reveal the date and the venue for his highly anticipated UFC heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic. While the two were booked for a clash last November, Jones suffered a pectoral injury during training that required surgery and sidelined him for months.
After undergoing recovery and physical rehabilitation, Jones is finally prepared to face Miocic. While the promotion has yet to confirm the date and venue for the Jones-Miocic clash, 'Bones' recently took to X to share some details. He wrote:
"November 9th. Madison Square Garden, here I come baby."
In a follow-up tweet, Jones addressed the recently announced Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes clash at UFC 304 in Manchester. As the reigning interim heavyweight champion, Aspinall has frequently called for a title unification bout against Jones over the past few months. However, Jones was set on facing Miocic next, and the UFC appeared dismissive of Aspinall's calls as well.
After Dana White announced the Aspinall-Blaydes fight for UFC 304, Jones believes the winner will officially be the top contender for the heavyweight title. Taking to X, he wrote:
"Curtis versus Tom for the official number one contender spot!"
Jon Jones dismisses rumors of his retirement, addresses "slowing down the division" talks
Jon Jones has made it clear that he isn't retired and is not planning on hanging up his gloves anytime soon. Given his lack of activity over the past year, many combat sports fans began speculating that Jones may be gearing up to call it a career soon. Jones last defeated Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023 to win the heavyweight title and hasn't featured in the octagon since.
In another X post, Jones dismissed the notion of him being retired. Responding to a fan who asked him about it, Jones implied that he'd training hard for his next fight and wrote:
"I’m definitely not retired. Sitting on my porch sore all over enjoying some time in the Metaverse. November 9 can’t come soon enough. I’m earning it every day. Just like I always have."
In another post, Jones addressed the trolls who blamed him for "slowing down the division" due to his injury. 'Bones' slammed the idea and seemingly took shots at Tom Aspinall, Sergei Pavlovich, and Curtis Blaydes for not being the main event fighters. He wrote:
"Trolls telling me I’m slowing down the division by getting injured. Meanwhile, the next two heavyweights aren’t even a main event? interesting. I’m on the right path, I got until November to remind the world. Again."