UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones might be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. He’s looking to secure that accolade against Stipe Miocic, arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time, this December at UFC 295. In a recent appearance on the OverDogs podcast, Jones admitted that Miocic gives him “nightmares.”
“I feel like when you get to a place when you don’t feel anything is probably when it’s time to hang it up and try something different. At this point, I still get really nervous, man. I have nightmares about my opponents.
Jon Jones Having “Nightmares” About Stipe Miocic Leading Up To UFC 295
About every hour, Stipe Miocic will cross my mind. He will cross my mind. I could be having a drink, you name it, he crosses my mind.”
Jones’ demolition of Ciryl Gane saw him claim the UFC heavyweight title, and the dominant performance from the former light heavyweight champ has most oddsmakers firmly backing “Bones” for the Miocic bout.
However, Jon Jones sees things differently. “Stipe has balls. He has courage. He’s not the youngest fighter, but that is a man. That is a man.
I’m not the youngest either. In sports’ years, I’m over the hill, that’s for sure. Especially in combat sports.
Stipe, he’s an honorable dude, and I know that he’s a man at the end of the day, and I know that he wants this fight. Everyone else thinks that his back’s against the wall and this is a David and Goliath situation for him.
I disagree. I think Stipe is a very capable athlete and I think I owe it to Stipe to give him that chance to fight the best fighter ever.
And I think Stipe owes it to me to give me a chance to fight the greatest heavyweight ever. I think we owe it to each other. I feel like we both would feel like we have unfinished business if we walked away not competing against each other.”
Jones also admitted that, at this stage of his career, he has minimal interest in fighting the younger crop of up-and-coming heavyweights.
“As far as these younger fighters, I look at guys like Aspinall and I look at guys like Sergei, dude, they’re amazing. Don’t get me wrong, these guys are amazing. They’re starching people in the first round.
But as I get older, I have to look at it as a business and not just speak out of pride, I have to speak out of my legacy and as a business.
If the hardcore fans know who these guys are, that’s great, but at the end of the day, I need to fight people that the mainstream public is going to be excited about, because there’s always going to be this new challenge that’s younger than you and everyone is going to want to see if you can do it one more time. It is what it is.”
