Stipe Miocic dismisses Jon Jones' "dumb" advice to take time off firefighting ahead of their bout
Stipe Miocic joined Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith on their Believe You Me podcast and chimed in on his future fight with the new heavyweight champion, Jon Jones.
Jones called out Miocic after submitting Cyril Gane at UFC 285 and advised that the former heavyweight champ take time off from firefighting to focus on training. Miocic, an active-duty firefighter, dismissed Jones' comments as "dumb" and said that he would continue to work while training to take on Jones sometime this year:
"That's dumb to say because I've been doing this for 12 years. I've been a fireman for 12 years, why am I going to change that? I'm going to be ready."
Watch the rest of Miocic's interview here:
Miocic also said that he was in talks to fight Jones at UFC 285 before the organization ultimately went with Ciryl Gane as Jones' opponent for the vacant heavyweight belt.
Stipe Miocic looks to beat Jon Jones and recapture the heavyweight title
After Jon Jones beat Ciryl Gane, he wasted little time in saying that he wanted Miocic next in his post-fight octagon interview.
Watch as Jones calls out Miocic and more:
Rumors are swirling that the pair will collide during International Fight Week and will fight at UFC 290 on July 8. So far, both fighters have taken jabs at each other. On facing Stipe Miocic, Jones said that he was in the wrong mental space and that he would finish him early into the fight:
“Stipe is talking about the fact that he’s heavier than me right now — his head is already in the wrong spot. If he thinks weightlifting is going to beat me, he’ll never be younger than he is right now, he’ll never be faster. And I’m going to not only beat Stipe, I’m going to finish him before the championship rounds.”
Watch the rest of Jones' post-fight interview here:
Stipe Miocic, on the other hand, plans to do exactly what got him to the dance, so to speak, and will continue to be a firefighter, as well as train to beat Jones. Stipe Miocic also spoke to ESPN's Brett Okamoto, saying he was ready for what Jones brings to the table.
Watch the rest of Miocic's comments here: