Jon Jones despatched a warning to Stipe Miocic forward of a their potential UFC heavyweight championship matchup.
After a greater than three-year layoff from competitors, Jones returned to the octagon on Saturday evening and submitted Ciryl Gane in simply over two minutes to win the vacant title in the primary occasion of UFC 285. Following the victory, Jones referred to as for a battle with Miocic, which the previous champion accepted. “Bones” stated he plans to instantly get again to the health club this week to organize for the matchup — and he desires Miocic to come back with that very same power, in any other case it’ll be a protracted evening for the previous champ.
“I say this respectfully to Stipe — I’d take time without work from being a firefighter proper now. And I imply that with all due respect,” Jones stated through the UFC 285 post-fight press convention. “My entire world goes to be centered on him. That is the largest alternative in my life to beat the heavyweight GOAT and I’m going give it all the pieces I’ve received, completely all the pieces I’ve received.
“Stipe is speaking about the truth that he’s heavier than me proper now — his head is already within the fallacious spot. If he thinks weightlifting goes to beat me, he’ll by no means be youthful than he’s proper now, he’ll by no means be sooner. And I’m going to not solely beat Stipe, I’m going to complete him earlier than the championship rounds.”
UFC president Dana White confirmed to members of the media following Friday’s UFC 285 ceremonial weigh-ins that the best scenario is for Miocic to problem Jones for the championship at UFC 290, which is scheduled to happen through the promotion’s Worldwide Struggle Week in Las Vegas on July 8.
Heading into his long-awaited return to motion — and his first as a heavyweight — the previous gentle heavyweight champion enlisted the assistance of present UFC fighter Walt Harris, together with former UFC heavyweights and present PFL rivals Maurice Greene and Yorgan De Castro.
With all three of his teammates getting ready for both scheduled bouts, or, in Harris’ case, a focused timeline for a battle, Jones desires to offer again to the lads who helped him prepare to perform this unimaginable feat.
On the identical time, Jones says he shall be all-in on his preparation for Miocic, who will look to problem the brand new champion in his first battle since dropping the title to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 almost two years in the past.
“We’re going proper again to work,” Jones stated. “I consider in my subsequent battle, I’ll go into it with a special degree of confidence — an excellent increased degree of confidence. I consider that I’m going to look actually nice. I’m going have even increased endurance than I had [against Gane], which goes be onerous to beat as a result of I’m in actually nice situation [right now].
“Yeah, the following battle goes to be superior.”