LAS VEGAS – UFC CEO Dana White intends on rebooking UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones against Stipe Miocic.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) vs. Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) was scrapped from UFC 295 after Jones sustained a torn pectoral tendon that requires surgery. As a result, the UFC booked an interim title fight between Sergei Pavlovich (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Tom Aspinall (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC), which co-headlines the Nov. 11 card at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“It’s one of those ones where if you know you know,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “It’s a badass fight with two young studs, and that’s going to be a fun one.”
White explained that it would have been offensive to offer Miocic an interim title fight. The plan is to have the winner of Pavlovich vs. Aspinall unify his belt with the winner of Jones vs. Miocic, which will be rebooked once Jones is healthy.
“One hundred percent (the winner will have to wait for Jones vs. Miocic to happen),” White said. “So here’s the deal: Jones and Stipe were supposed to fight. Jones gets hurt, right? Eight, nine months he’s going to be out. You don’t strip him or take him out of the rankings after a year, right?
“So, if you’re Sergei and Aspinall, you’re getting the opportunity to fight for the interim title anyway now. So, yeah, they’re going to have to wait until this fight happens. This fight was set up; this fight needs to happen. Two of the biggest legends in the sport want the fight, (and) the fans want the fight.”
When asked what happens if Jones and Miocic decide to retire after fighting each other, White said he’d like it if the winner unified their belt with the interim champ.
“To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. So whoever wins that fight, it would be nice to see them stick around and defend it,” White said. “That we can’t determine until it happens.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.
