Here's What Stipe Is Thinking

Former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic seems to be inching closer to a return to the Octagon after almost two years away.

Miocic hasn’t fought since a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260. An immediate rematch seemed on the table following the defeat, but it didn’t come to fruition due to a series of circumstances.

Almost two years after the loss to Ngannou, the possibility of a rematch with Ngannou seems lost for Miocic. This is after the UFC released Ngannou following a long contract dispute.

Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane will square off for the now-vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285. The fight could arguably bring stability back to the division that has been a bit wobbly amidst Ngannou’s injury and contract disputes.

Miocic wants title redemption and recently called his shot against the Jones/Gane victor.

Stipe Miocic Wants The Jon Jones/Ciryl Gane Winner

In a recent tweet, Miocic teased his potential return to the UFC Octagon.

“March 4th – I like it,” Miocic tweeted Sunday. “I got winner in July.”

UFC President Dana White claimed during the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight press conference that Miocic’s return is up in the air due to issues in Miocic’s personal life. He didn’t specify the exact issue, although Miocic recently mourned the loss of his father.

Before the loss to Ngannou, Miocic won his trilogy with Daniel Cormier and also defended the belt over the likes of Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, and Ngannou. He’s arguably the greatest heavyweight champion in UFC history.

Miocic and Jones were briefly linked to a potential matchup last year, but the fight didn’t happen. If Jones defeats Gane at UFC 285, what was once thought of as a dream matchup could potentially become a reality.

Gane earned the vacant title shot after a win over Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris. He lost to Ngannou at UFC 270 for the then-unified heavyweight title after earning the interim belt against Derrick Lewis.

The 40-year-old Miocic was once thought of as being close to retirement, but he wants at least one more shot at UFC gold before he hangs up the gloves.

Jones wins the title and doesn’t fight until 2024, or does some stupid shit and gets stripped again.

There’s no way the UFC didn’t include some special clauses about conduct considering his past, it’s how air tight contracts are broken.

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thought the same thing , that contract needed a button down

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By the time Stipe got in there this summer he would be three years without a win in the UFC. I don’t want to see a guy like that get a title shot.

I’d much rather see Blaydes get the shot since Blaydes has gone 3-0 in most of 2021 and 2022 while Stipe went 0-1 and would have never accepted the Blaydes fight in the past two years.

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Same goes for Jon.

Do you support him getting title shot?

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Unfortunately, I don’t think he gets it or fights in the UFC again and if he does, loses.

Same does not go for Jon. He is not 0-1 in 2021 and 2022, he is 0-0 but undefeated.

Jon has had a few close fights recently but Jones has never lost. I’ve never seen him finished.

I’ve seen Stipe lose four times and I’ve seen him finished three times. Even before going almost three years without a win now, Stipe has been fighting just once a year for six years now. It contributes to the UFC HW division being horrifically boring and the sooner he retires the better.

Jones is doing something new at least. With Stipe its the same old same old. Dude has slowed down the HW division to a one fight a year pace since 2017 and it makes the already boring division even more fucking boring and stale.

At least Jones vs Gane is something new.

The fans didn’t even want the third Stipe DC fight that much and it took an entire year for that to even happen.

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true

The last time Stipe beat a fighter that’s still on the roster was Arlovski in 2016.

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“They went with Ciryl,” Miocic said on The MMA Hour. I’m not a matchmaker, I can’t tell you [why]. I don’t know. [The UFC] just went a different direction, so they said maybe July.” (h/t MMAFighting)

“Yeah, I definitely was [disappointed],” Miocic continued. “[Jones] is great fight, it’s a great matchup for me, but at the end of the day, it’s not my decision unfortunately. But we’ll see what happens. I think those two guys are going to go out and have a fight, they’re both gamers, and I’d love to get a crack at one of those guys, whoever wins it.”