Jon Jones reveals that he’s verbally agreed to UFC return against Stipe Miocic: “I have a date”

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has verbally agreed to face Stipe Miocic later this year.

‘Bones’ hasn’t competed since a first-round submission victory over Ciryl Gane last March. That win at UFC 285 crowned Jon Jones as the new heavyweight champion, winning the title Francis Ngannou vacated in January. Following the win, the newly crowned titleholder signed a deal to face Stipe Miocic in November.

However, that fight never happened. Weeks before UFC 295, Jon Jones tore his pectoral muscle in training and withdrew from the title defense. As a result, Stipe Miocic was also pulled from the card, and Tom Aspinall faced Sergei Pavlovich for interim gold. The Brit wound up winning the title by first-round knockout.

While there was some speculation that Jon Jones would face the interim champion, Dana White later confirmed that wasn’t the case. Over the last few months, the UFC CEO has repeatedly stated that Stipe Miocic is next in line for the champion. While Jones sat on the shelf for months healing, he returned to training earlier this month.

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(via Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones confirms plans to return against Stipe Miocic

Now, Jon Jones has his return to the cage almost set. Earlier this week, the UFC heavyweight champion answered some fan’s questions on X. In one of the posts, Jones revealed that he spoke with the promotion about returning against Stipe Miocic. While he hasn’t signed a deal to return to the cage, ‘Bones’ has apparently verbally agreed to fight the former champion.

“I have a date, I’ll let boss man Dana announce that.” Jon Jones wrote in a post on X and later followed it up with another comment about the bout. “Nope [I haven’t signed a contract], as right now it’s just a verbal agreement.”

For Jon Jones, his return against Stipe Miocic will be his first bout in over a year. However, the same can’t be said for the former heavyweight champion. Whenever Miocic fights next, it will be his first bout since a second-round knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in March 2021. That loss to ‘The Predator’ ended his second stint with the UFC heavyweight title.

What do you make of this MMA news? Are you excited for the return of UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones? Do you believe ‘Bones’ will defeat Stipe Miocic later this year?