Jon Jones upset after Stipe Miocic called him a ‘bitch’ in UFC 309 video, Miocic apologizes

Jon Jones is gearing up for fight week.

The heavyweight champion is just days away from defending his title against Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York, and he’s keeping an eye on his pre-fight program. Jones, in particular, took offense to Miocic’s choice of words during a recent UFC countdown program.

“Try it, bitch,” Miocic said on the show.

Jones responded to the clip on Instagram Stories and Twitter, which can be seen below (h/t Happy Punch).

“Hiring a black warrior to imitate me doesn’t help, Stipe,” Jones wrote. “And you shouldn’t have called me a bitch, no disrespect. Let’s play.”

For the most part, the rivalry between Jones and Miocic was respectful before this exchange. Jones has frequently emphasized his respect for Miocic, who holds the record for most defenses of the UFC heavyweight title (four). The two were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 295 in December 2023, but Jones was forced to miss that bout with a pectoral injury that will keep him sidelined for several months.

In Jones’ absence, British heavyweight Tom Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim title and successfully defended it once this year by defeating Curtis Blaydes in July. Aspinall has repeatedly expressed interest in unifying the titles, but Jones’ eyes are only on Miocic.

Jones’ refusal to recognize Aspinall, the No. 1 heavyweight in the world MMA fighting rankings, as a true contender for the title caused quite a stir within the MMA community, calling the all-time great a “suck”. has been criticized. Aspinal.

After responding to Miocic, Jones released a series of tweets responding to his critics, including top light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev, who also mocked Jones for not fighting Aspinall.

“Magomed, jealousy will not earn you legendary status, my friend,” Jones wrote. “Train harder and hate less. Do you really want to insult me? Let’s start by breaking some of my records. Let’s get started.”

Ankalaev later posted a tweet mocking Jones’ history of failed drug tests. Jones had a legendary run as light heavyweight champion from 2011 to 2020, defeating a string of former world champions and elite challengers, compiling perhaps the most impressive career in MMA history. However, his reputation was tarnished by two drug tests, one in 2016 that cost him his interim title and the other in 2017 that caused his championship victory over Daniel Cormier to be overturned to a no contest. .

See below for the tweet storm when Jones responded to a fan.

UPDATE: Miocic apologized for his language during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.

“He was just talking to me, I was talking to him,” Miocic said. “Come on. I’m sorry if I hurt his feelings, I was just trying to make it work, you know?”

“Okay, I’m sorry. I never meant to disrespect him. I guess it’s just the heat right now, sorry. I don’t understand.”