Stipe Miocic He wants what he wants, and that’s all that matters to him – Tom Aspinall and UFC fans be damned.
The fight between Miocic and the UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been talked about since being booked and subsequently falling apart last October after Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle just weeks before they were set to headline UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
For some, Jones vs. Miocic pits two legends against each other in a dream matchup. For Aspinall, it’s a nightmare. That’s because, as the current interim UFC heavyweight champion, Aspinall should be the next to unify with Jones – except for the fact that both Jones and Miocic are determined to only fight each other, with which the UFC CEO , Dana White, is on board.
While Miocic may feel some empathy for Aspinall, who will defend his interim belt later this month against Curtis Blaydes, the truth is he doesn’t really care.
“I understand. I would feel the same, but I’m not going to take anything away from him,” Miocic said in an interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri. “The UFC can do whatever it wants. It is what it is. There’s only one guy I want to fight, (and) it’s Jon Jones. But at the same time, the UFC can choose whoever it wants. …I’m not sustaining any division like everyone says. I don’t call. Do what you want and stop crying. I’m not saying (Aspinall) is crying. I’m just saying like fans and stuff like that.”
So, when go Miocic, who hasn’t competed since his knockout loss to Francis Ngannou about 3 1/2 years ago, finally gets his chance against Jones? The prevailing notion is that the long-awaited clash will headline the UFC’s return to Madison Square Garden in November, but that’s just a target – and perhaps far from a done deal if you take Miocic at his word.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Miocic said. “I’ll keep training and we’ll see what happens. Yes, that’s all I have to say.”
All Miocic knows for sure is that he wants to fight Jones and only Jones, motivated by the feeling that he is already excluded.
“Everyone thinks he’s going to beat me up. I don’t like people telling me that,” Miocic said. “I like to shut people up. He is beatable. I know he is. Anyone is beatable and I will be the first to do so.”
