Stipe Miocic has warning for Jon Jones before title fight at UFC 309: Different ballgame

During fight week media interactions, athletes rarely are far from a bottle of water.But only the heavyweights have the luxury of filling a plate of food, fielding questions while enjoying a meal.As much as Q&A sessions aren’t Stipe Miocic’s cup of tea, at least he had his veggie wrap Wednesday afternoon during UFC 309 media day, his first wide interaction with reporters since his last fight more than 3 ½ years ago.“They still suck,” Miocic, the former heavyweight champion who returns in Saturday’s main event at Madison Square Garden where he challenges Jon Jones for the title he held twice previously, ribbed reporters about fielding their questions.“It’s gotten better over the years.

I’ve accepted it.I understand.”For Miocic (20-4, 15 finishes), that’s “part of the game,” and what matters most to him is that he’ll finally get his chance to reclaim the title he lost to Francis Ngannou in March 2021.If he had his way, Miocic would have taken care of that bit of business last November when he and Jones were first booked for the Garden, the delay caused by Jones’ torn pectoral muscle less than two weeks ahead of UFC 295.At the end of the day, Miocic is just happy to get the fight he wanted most upon his return from the yearslong layoff against Jones (27-1, 17 finishes), arguably the GOAT of mixed martial arts whose only career loss 15 years ago came via controversial disqualification.“I wanted Jon Jones more than anything,” Miocic said.

“But it wasn’t gonna happen, it wasn’t gonna happen.But [I’m] happy it worked out the way it did.”Unlike Miocic, a career heavyweight who doubles as a full-time firefighter in his native Ohio, Jones made his name as the most dominant light heavyweight champion in the sport’s history.

He’s a neophyte at the biggest weight class in the UFC, having won in March 2023 the title vacated by Ngannou’s free-agent departure to PFL.He’s merely 1-0 at heavyweight.Jones had taken three years...