CLEVELAND — The fight everyone has been yearning for is finally happening.
Greater Cleveland native Stipe Miocic will get a chance to regain his UFC Heavyweight Championship on Nov. 11 against current titleholder Jon Jones. UFC President Dana White made the announcement Friday, confirming the two MMA legends will face off at Madison Square Garden on Veterans Day as part of UFC 295.
"This is the fight that Jon Jones wanted, it's the fight that Stipe wanted," White said in a video posted on Twitter. "It's a legacy fight for both of these guys."
The "dream fight" had been an on and off rumor for years, with dates even mentioned and both Jones and Miocic calling each other out. When Jones took down Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight belt this past March, White told reporters his next opponent would "definitely" be Stipe. A tentative July meeting was initially planned before both sides eventually settled on November.
Referred to by White as "the greatest heavyweight of all time," Miocic (20-4) first became champion in May of 2016 and defended his title three times before losing to fellow fighting icon Daniel Cormier in 2018. However, the firefighter and Eastlake North High School alum recovered to beat Cormier twice and regain the belt, only to lose it in March of 2021 to Francis Ngannou (a man whom he had beaten once before).
Now 40 years old, Stipe has not fought since that night in Las Vegas, while Ngannou ended up forfeiting the crown when he left UFC altogether. That left the door open for Jones, who defeated former interim champ Gane via first-round submission.
With White calling him "the greatest mixed martial artist of all time," Jones (27-1-1) has long been one of UFC's biggest draws, reigning as Light Heavyweight Champion for the better part of the 2010s before moving up a weight class. Still, his career has not been without controversy, having his belt stripped from him first in 2015 following a hit-and-run conviction and again in both 2016 and 2018 after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
Further details for the Jones-Miocic matchup have not been made available, although it will likely air on pay-per-view. This will be Miocic's first time ever fighting at "the mecca" of Madison Square Garden.
MORE FROM 3NEWS...
