Finally, Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones will fight for the UFC Heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden on November 11th, Dana White announced earlier today.
Jon Jones is set to defend his UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 on November 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Dana White announced Friday. pic.twitter.com/4Pp8hKNEHI
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 7, 2023
After nearly two years of speculation, the fight between former Heavyweight champ- Stipe Miocic and current Heavyweight champ- Jon Jones is now official for later this year.
IT’S OFFICIALLY HAPPENING 🚨@JonnyBones vs @StipeMiocic for the heavyweight title will headline #UFC295 at Madison Square Garden!! pic.twitter.com/Que6RwEjo4
— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2023
Dana White announced via. Twitter before the UFC 290 ceremonial weigh-ins, “What’s up everybody, UFC President- Dana White here, it’s International Fight Week here in Vegas so it is the perfect time to announce another bada** fight. For the Heavyweight championship of the world, Jon Jones, the greatest mixed martial artist of all time will defend his title against the greatest Heavyweight of all time, former champ- Stipe Miocic. They headline UFC 295 on Saturday, November 11th at the Mecca- Madison Square Garden in New York City. This is the fight that Jon Jones wanted, it’s the fight that Stipe wanted, it is a legacy fight for both of these guys. It’s official, it’s done, make your plans now and I will see you at the fights.”
The fight between the two greats has been widely speculated ever since Jones announced his move up to the Heavyweight division a few years ago and finally the fight is official.
Francis Ngannou was the Heavyweight champ for the promotion but was released by the UFC due to contract issues. Dana White announced the release of Ngannou in January following the breaking news of Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane for the vacant Heavyweight title set for UFC 285 in March, you can read more about the release of Ngannou and his PFL deal here. Jones made quick work of Gane at UFC 285, defeating the former interim champ via. first-round submission just over two minutes into the fight, it was Jones’ first fight at Heavyweight.
On the other side, Stipe Miocic has not competed since losing the Heavyweight crown to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021, over two years ago. The bout at UFC 260 was a rematch from their first bout at UFC 220 when Miocic successfully defended his title against Ngannou via. Unanimous Decision to set the record for most consecutive UFC Heavyweight title defenses at three.
There are currently no other bouts announced for UFC 295 at the time of this writing.
