LAS VEGAS — Following a three-year layoff, Jon "Bones" Jones made his return to the UFC octagon on Saturday, defeating Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship.
It didn't take long for the new champ to pick his next opponent, with Jones issuing a challenge to Cleveland native Stipe Miocic.
“Y’all want to see me beat up Stipe?” Jones asked the audience in Las Vegas during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan after submitting Gane in the first round on Saturday. “One thing I know about the UFC is we give the fans what they want to see.
“Stipe Miocic, I hope you’re training, my guy. You’re the greatest heavyweight of all time, and that’s what I want. I want you. Real bad.”
UFC President Dana White also confirmed the fight during his post-show press conference.
“I don’t know when, but he’s definitely fighting Stipe,” White told reporters of Jones' next challenger.
A fight between Miocic and Jones has been rumored since 2019, with Jones even stating as recently as last fall that he was preparing to face the two-time heavyweight champion in December. That fight, however, never ultimately came to fruition, with Jones instead facing Gane for the title that was vacated following Francis Ngannou's departure from UFC.
While a date has been yet to be made official for the bout between Miocic and Jones, Miocic told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani on "The MMA Hour" that he expects the fight to take place at UFC 290 on July 8 in Las Vegas. In addition to being the biggest heavyweight matchup UFC could currently make, the headlines for the bout practically write themselves, with Miocic -- who holds the record for most UFC Heavyweight Championship defenses with four -- considered the most accomplished UFC heavyweight of all-time, while many consider Jones to be the most talented UFC competitor ever.
Despite having lost his most recent fight to Ngannou via knockout in 2021, Miocic (20-4) is confident that he'll hand Jones (27-1 with the one defeat by disqualification) his first true career loss.
“I know that [he’s never lost,]” Miocic told Helwani of Jones. “It sucks that he’s going to lose. He’s going [to have] a big ‘one.’ I’m not going to imagine it, it’s going to happen."