The UFC 309 heavyweight title clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic has a lot of drama surrounding it. With legacies on the line, and this bout possibly being either fighter’s last in the Octagon, both fighters are doing everything they can to gain an advantage over the other. Preparing for Jon Jones is a tough outing for anyone as it is difficult to bring anyone into camp that mimic’s the dynamic fighter’s high-IQ fighting style.

For this fight, ‘Bones’ is sure that Miocic hired ‘black fighters’ to mimic his fighting style, which seemed to have amused the former heavyweight champion. On being probed on Jones’ accusation, Stipe Miocic responded with – “Oh I pay them? That was bulls** because they are my teammates! We are not getting paid, so now I am hiring people too?  So, whatever.”

While both fighters have been mostly respectful towards each other, Miocic took shots at the heavyweight champion in the UFc 309 countdown episode – “I’m going to hurt him a lot, I promise you that. I am going to beat his ass and walk out with the belt around my waist. Bring it on b***h, bring it on b***h.” Not one to take things lying down, Jones responded to Miocic with the following on X (formerly Twitter) – “Hiring black fighters to mimic me will not help you, Stipe. And you shouldn’t have called me a b—h, the disrespect wasn’t necessary. Let’s play.”

The pressure is on, with Jones playing up the drama in the lead up to the fight. Despite all the heat from Jon Jones, and talk of Miocic being too old or out-of-his-prime for this fight, the Croatian-American fighter seems unaffected by it all, as per his usual MO.

“Keep talking sh*t” – Stipe Miocic is unfazed by people’s opinions

During a recent appearance on the Ariel Helwani show, Miocic was asked about how he deals with all the criticism from fans. In response, ‘Stone Cold’ was direct in stating that he doesn’t care about any of it – “I always use it. I use that fuel. Keep talking sh*t about me. Keep dodging me—I use it as fire.” Much like his day job as a firefighter, he knows how to deal with ‘fire’ in both the literal and figurative senses.

Miocic previously faced a lot of heat from fans for delaying his return against Daniel Cormier in their trilogy saga. Responding to criticisms, Miocic said, “I don’t know what people want from me really,” Miocic told MMA Fighting. “Everyone’s like ‘he’s holding the division’ and I’m like how am I holding up the division? Other guys are saying ‘We can train.’ Well, good for you. You live in a different state, you have different regulations.”

His unwillingness to make a quick turnaround was due to gyms being closed as a result of the COVID-19. Along with that, as a first responder, his hands were full as he was caught up saving people.

Will Stipe Miocic’s stoic nature translate to winning about against Jon Jones at UFC 309? Let us know in the comments below.