Stipe Miocic has a chance to make history at UFC 295.
Jon Jones finally made his long-awaited arrival in the Heavyweight division at UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane this past March 2023. The former two-time Light Heavyweight kingpin made easy work of France’s finest, submitting Gane via a guillotine choke in just over two minutes (watch highlights).
Jone’s Heavyweight debut was a fantasy matchmaker’s dream in the early 2010s when he first teased it. At the time, Cain Velasquez was the reigning baddest man on the planet as UFC Heavyweight champion. Now retired from mixed martial arts (MMA), Velasquez will watch on with the rest of the world, anticipating an intriguing stylistic clash.
“I mean, Jon Jones: the greatest ever. The greatest ever that you’re ever going to see — especially somebody at that weight class, 205, and now Heavyweight,” Velasquez told The Schmo (h/t MMA Junkie). “Obviously a complete fighter, mentally the strongest competitor that you’re going to face out there, but there is always that puncher’s chance. There’s always that maybe chance.
“That’s what continues to bring interest in the fights,” he continued. “Stipe, the greatest Heavyweight out there, arguably. He brings so many threats to Jon Jones as well. Obviously, your gut will tell you that Jon Jones may come out of this on top. But there’s always that ‘maybe,’ and Stipe’s one of those guys that can bring out that big maybe in this fight.”
UFC 285 was the first time Jones had fought in three years, and for Miocic, he too will end a hiatus, having not fought since March 2021. Miocic’s last time out saw him fall short against Francis Ngannou in their title fight rematch. Coincidentally, Velasquez’s last fight also came against Ngannou when he suffered a technical knockout defeat in 26 seconds.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
