Stipe Miocic warns Jon Jones that power is different at heavyweight.
Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) challenges heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) in the UFC 295 headliner Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Jones reigned over the UFC’s light heavyweight division for almost a decade before he decided to relinquish his belt and challenge himself at heavyweight. He only absorbed seven total strikes in his submission win over Ciryl Gane to capture the vacant belt, but Miocic says heavyweight will be a different story once he properly experiences it.
“Power, there’s no question,” Miocic told MMA Junkie Radio. “You’ve got a big man in there throwing bombs. It doesn’t matter if you throw hard or not. All that weight behind a punch with small gloves, anything can happen.”
Two-time UFC champion Miocic widely is considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight of all time. He holds the record for consecutive UFC heavyweight title defenses with three. At 41, what’s the motivation to keep fighting? Miocic says his knockout loss to Francis Ngannou left a sour taste in his mouth.
“There’s a lot of reasons: One, I want to fight the best,” Miocic said. “I’m a competitor. I love to compete and I love fighting. I’m still having fun. My last fight didn’t go as well as I wanted it to. I’m ready to bounce back and get that win.”
Although he didn’t get to see much, Miocic says Jones’ win over Gane proved he also still has the drive to compete.
“He’s there to win,” Miocic said. “He’s a fighter. He’s one of the best of all time so, he’s going to be ready to go.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.
