One of the fights that the entire realm of mixed martial arts is eagerly waiting for is the one between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. The bout was expected to materialize back in 2023, but the heavyweight champion had to pull back owing to a pectoral muscle injury. The fight was postponed, and just when the talks about the heavyweights clashing began to rise, a rumor struck the UFC world that put Jones vs. Miocic in a doubtful space. 

The rumor was indeed about ‘The Silencer’s injury. Thankfully, the famed MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani, and Miocic himself have announced that the matchup is not troubled by any injury.

Stipe Miocic clears the air around the injury rumors 

Not too long ago, the UFC interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, took to his YouTube channel and talked about the rumors that are flying around on the internet. Needless to say, he assured that these were nothing more than rumors which claimed Miocic was injured. However, he did not back down from pointing out that Miocic was prone to injury. After all, ‘The Silencer’ has turned 42 years old.

Aspinall said, “These are just rumors at this point. There’s a lot of talk, but there’s nothing announced yet. These are all rumors. I’m hearing rumors that Stipe’s potentially injured. These are stuff that I’m hearing from inner circles. Stipe, I believe his birthday was yesterday actually, he’s 42 years old. The guy is going to be injury-prone. Jon Jones, a million miles on the clock. He’s going to be injury-prone.”

Soon after, Helwani took to X and addressed the rumors about Miocic being out of his slated fight with Jones. He wrote, “I’m told the rumor that Stipe Miocic is injured and out of the Jones fault (fight) is 100% not true.”

And Miocic was right behind the MMA reporter to confirm the facts. He went on X and shared a GIF featuring the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the words, “FAKE NEWS!” flashing in rhythm. Needless to say, the fighting community, especially Jones, took a sigh of relief and the anticipation for Miocic’s title shot continued.

While ‘Stone Cold’ didn’t waste a single moment to overturn the hoax, he didn’t back down from deploying deception to gain an edge over his opponent with a training video. Or that’s what Jones thinks.

Jon Jones calls out his opponent’s strategy

While Jones was on the road to recovery from his torn pectoral muscle, a video of Miocic’s training went viral on the internet. The fight fans seemed to think ‘Stone Cold’ was getting weaker and slower. After all, that’s what the padwork video depicted. But the heavyweight champ knew the story behind it.

Taking to X, ‘Bones’ revealed, “I’m not a historian of war or anything, but I have learned a thing or two in my day. A big part of combat strategy is timing, and deception. To make a long story short, if your opponent appears weak, prepare even harder. Complacency is the greatest enemy to a fighter like myself.”

Miocic is indeed one of the strongest fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. However, it’s his age that puts him at a great disadvantage. Nevertheless, with his experience and battle IQ, he will give tough competition to Jones. At the end of the day, even ‘Bones’ seemed wary of his power. 

Who do you think will win between Miocic and Jones? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.