Current UFC commentator and former UFC Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has shared his thoughts on Jon Jones versus Stipe Miocic.
Following the recent UFC Fight Night: St Louis, Dana White confirmed that Jon Jones will be fighting Stipe Miocic next. The two were originally booked to fight back in November 2023 at UFC 295 but Jones had to pull out due to injury.
Stipe refused to fight if it wasn’t against Jones and so up stepped back up fighter Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall on ten days’ notice. Aspinall got the first-round knockout just one minute into the fight to claim the spot as Interim Heavyweight champion.
The UFC refused to strip Jones of his belt and so the Heavyweight division has been on pause ever since awaiting the return of Jones
Daniel Cormier on Stipe Miocic Chances Against Jon Jon Jones
There had been questions circulating over who Jon Jones’s next opponent would be. He took to X to ask fans whether they’d rather see him fight current Interim Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall or Light-Heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Regardless of all the confusion, Dana put the questions to bed in the UFC St Louis post-fight press conference stating:
“It’s Stipe, I think Jon is just asking, ‘Who do you like?’, ‘Who do you think?’, he’s just feeling it out. But he knows he’s fighting Stipe”.
This news came as a surprise to some as Tom Aspinall has confirmed he’ll be fighting at UFC 304 in Manchester. This adds more confusion over the status of Tom Aspinall’s Interim title. Will he be defending an Interim belt or will they strip him until Jon Jones and Stipe eventually fight?
Daniel Cormier Doubts Stipe Miocic’s Chances Against Jon Jones
Following the news that the UFC are going ahead with Jon Jones versus Stipe Miocic many have questioned the direction the UFC is going. Former double champion Daniel Cormier shared his thoughts on the bout:
“The toughest fight and the most meaningful fight in all of fighting right now is Jon Jones-Tom Aspinall. I don’t even know at this point if it should be Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, and I like Stipe,”
“Stipe’s a great guy, but at that age, with that much time off… Look, I fought until I was 41 and I was relatively active before I had back surgery. I fought three times in 2018 when I was 39 years old because I was healthy.”
Not only did he doubt the age of Miocic but also his ability eluding to how long Stipe has gone without a fight:
“To go that long without a fight, and the last fight being a brutal knockout. Into a title fight with a guy like Jones?”
“I don’t know what Stipe looks like today. For four years, he’s lived the life of a normal person. Because you’re in there wrestling with those kids, does that make you a competitive wrestler still? It doesn’t. Can Stipe still compete at that level, is the question.”
Cormier has certainly raised some valid questions about the fight. Stipe Miocic last fought in March 2021 against Francis Ngannou in which he suffered a devastating knockout. Whilst time away from the ring will have helped him recover ring rust may still play a part.
Jones too has had a fair stint of inactivity with just three fights in the past five years. He seemed unphased by the layoff when he finished Cirly Gane by submission in the first round in March 2023.
With the two Heavyweight veterans at the latter ends of their careers, who will be the fresher fighter?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
