Speculation has emerged that Stipe Miocic is facing an injury that might jeopardize his upcoming UFC championship match against Jon Jones. Previously, Miocic was slated to fight Jones at UFC 295 held in New York City. However, an unfortunate pectoral muscle-related injury led to the current champion deferring from the match. Industry insiders indicate the fight is rescheduled for UFC 309 slated for November. Amid this, Tom Aspinall, the interim champion, sparked further questions about Miocic’s fitness status with his startling remarks.
Contrary to the circulating rumors, there isn’t any injury incident related to Stipe Miocic. Therefore, the speculations are baseless.
Jon Jones remains the unequivocal leader of the UFC heavyweight division. Having transitioned from a light heavyweight champion, Jones secured the heavyweight title last year at UFC 285. Miocic was anticipated to be the contender for Jones’s first title defence. Nonetheless, following the cancellation of their face-off at UFC 295, England’s Tom Aspinall ascended to claim the interim title, defeating Serghei Pavlovich. Aspinall’s long-standing chase for a title-unification face-off with Jones has been noted, as he recently expressed his suspicions about Miocic’s physical condition.
Aspinall chose his YouTube channel as a platform to voice the rumor about Miocic’s alleged injury that he picked up through his close connections. Aspinall, the towering English UFC star, remarked, ‘I’m being informed from my immediate circle that Stipe is possibly injured. It was just his birthday, and he turned 42. It’s likely that he could be susceptible to injuries.’
But Miocic has since dismissed these discussions as baseless on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). Responding to the unsubstantiated claims made by Aspinall, Miocic posted a Donald Trump GIF reading ‘fake news.’
Miocic has remained inactive since his title loss to Francis Ngannou in 2021. His scheduled fight with Jones is under a lot of scrutiny considering his age and lack of victories post-2020. Furthermore, with Aspinall claiming and defending the interim belt, the heavyweight championship scenario is rather complex.
Aspinall will remain prepared and is designated as a supplementary fighter for the Jones vs. Miocic matchup scheduled for later this year. Aspinall also confirms his presence for the fight. Speaking in the same YouTube video, he expressed: ‘Assuming you [Jon Jones] successfully defend your title against Stipe in November, I will be a front-row audience. Post-match, I’d like you to handover the undisputed title to me.’