The closer we get to Saturday’s UFC 309 pay-per-view card At New York’s Madison Square Garden, the less we seem to talk about the full-time firefighter and UFC legend who makes up half the main event.
As Jon Jones prepares to defend his heavyweight crown for the first time upon his return to the Octagon after 20 months due to a torn pectoral tendon, fight week stories have instead largely surrounded this what Jones will do next if he wins and whether he retires before giving interim titleholder Tom Aspinall a chance to unite against him.
Fortunately for Stipe Miocic (20-4), the most accomplished heavyweight champion in UFC history with four title defenses in two reigns, going under the radar is exactly where he wants to be.
“I’m too busy for that,” Miocic told CBS Sports last week. “I work full time and have two kids and a wife who are crazy and awesome. There’s always something going on. It never ends and I love every second of it, so I don’t have time to relax. sit there and hurt someone’s feelings on social media.”
The soft-spoken, blue-collar Miocic will face Jones (27-1, 1 NC) in the Ohio native’s first appearance since losing his title to Francis Ngannou via brutal second-round knockout at their rematch in 2021. Miocic was originally scheduled to fight Jones last November in the same building at UFC 295 before the injury sidelined Jones and forced CEO Dana White to delay the fight by a year. stars.
The delay angered many fans who would have preferred Jones’ return against UFC interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall (15-3), who devastated one top contender after another in Jones’ absence.
Although Miocic has heard some of the rhetoric shared by critics, including those who bring up the fact that he hasn’t won a fight since 2020, true to form, he doesn’t care. Although remembering how many fans brought up Miocic’s age after seeing him enter a UFC arena earlier this year as a fan – many pointed out that it appeared Miocic was limping — all he could do was laugh.
“I like to shut people up,” Miocic said. “I’m walking fine. I’m fine. I feel fine.”
Chris Weidman, a former UFC middleweight champion who will compete on Saturday’s undercard in a 185-pound bout against Eryk Anders, told CBS Sports on Thursday that he thinks his close friend Miocic was mistreated by the media this week.
“Honestly, I think you should talk more about Stipe Miocic than Tom Aspinall,” Weidman said. “I feel like everyone is overlooking Stipe in this fight. If Stipe gets a win on Saturday night, it’s not even a topic of discussion anymore and I feel like there’s a lot of disrespect to him. Stipe.
“Jones is going to do what he wants to do, at this point. I feel bad for Aspinall, it’s just a weird time to be champion with Jon Jones coming in and beating Cyril Gane like that. Tom Aspinall looks great, finishing all these badasses, he has this interim belt, but what does an interim belt mean he can’t even fight for the real belt It’s a tough thing for him, but c? it’s a bit like that what does the UFC work and it’s just weird timing for him?
After recently teaming up with OnlyFans, Miocic gave his fans a glimpse into his training camp for the historic match in an episode of OFTV’s “Rise and Grind,” which premiered on Tuesday.
Miocic went on to explain that he was never offered an interim title shot against Aspinall during Jones’ recovery and never asked for one. For him, an inevitable return to the Octagon was always about fighting Jones and no one else.
“Patience is a virtue. That’s what I wanted and I’m happy I got it,” Miocic said. “I’m always the underdog, which suits me. I’m a very competitive person and I love what I do. It’s nothing new (being overlooked), I’m used to it at this point. I don’t I really don’t. “I don’t care, I really don’t care what other people think and that’s how I was raised. Nothing is ever given, it has to be earned. My mom and dad always instilled in me to go out and get what’s yours and to never sit back and wait for things to work out. be given to you. I always thought that if you didn’t have a path, you had to make it.
“They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but I’m definitely not that old and I’ve definitely learned some new tricks. And I’ll leave this octagon with the belt.”
