UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones previews his defence against no8 ranked Stipe Miocic
Jon Jones (27-1 1NC, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M. by way of Endicott, N.Y.) looks to build upon his legacy by adding former division champion Miocic to his resume
UFC heavyweight champion
Former UFC light heavyweight champion
Most consecutive title defenses in division history (8)
10 wins by knockout, seven wins via submission
Eight first-round finishes
14/11/2024
UFC309
Jon Jones (27-1 1NC, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M. by way of Endicott, N.Y.) looks to build upon his legacy by adding former division champion Miocic to his resume
UFC heavyweight champion
Former UFC light heavyweight champion
Most consecutive title defenses in division history (8)
10 wins by knockout, seven wins via submission
Eight first-round finishes
14/11/2024
UFC309
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00All right, a little chilly up here.
00:05OK, I'm ready.
00:07Sorry about that.
00:09Well, John, this right here.
00:11Hey.
00:11Obviously, I think since the UFC became legal,
00:14or MMA was legalized in New York,
00:16and they started to have these cards at MSG every November,
00:19every interview you do, that usually kind of like,
00:22when are you going to fight New York?
00:23When are you going to fight New York?
00:24Now you're actually, you are going
00:26to fight at MSG as the heavyweight champion.
00:28So I guess, how does it feel to finally get
00:30this chapter of fighting, not just in New York,
00:32but in Madison Square Garden as a champion,
00:35off your bucket list?
00:36I'm proud.
00:38I'm proud to be here.
00:39I'm proud of the state of the UFC.
00:43To see Dana up on stage at the election,
00:48I feel like that moment just elevated the whole sport.
00:52Americans and people from around the world
00:55is like, who's the ball head dude talking?
00:58That represents all of us.
00:59And I feel like even you guys as being MMA reporters,
01:03I feel like it puts you all on a more prestigious level.
01:07That's how I genuinely feel.
01:10And so to be here at Madison Square Garden,
01:17it's like the fight capital of the world.
01:19And to have the president possibly in attendance,
01:22it's just, it's all a huge honor to have
01:26your face on the billboards in Times Square.
01:31It just feels amazing.
01:34I was in Vegas a few days ago, and people were treating me
01:41like absolute royalty.
01:43And that's not, that's, it's just a different feeling
01:46in the air right now.
01:48Everyone cares about this fight, it feels like.
01:52There's a lot of fans that felt like this fight shouldn't
01:55have been the fight.
01:57But from my point of view, it's like one
02:00of the most prestigious things I've been a part of
02:02in my whole career, being the main event of the Garden.
02:07And I'm grateful, and I'm very, very
02:09honored for the opportunity to be in this position.
02:13And you've made it known when you finally
02:16do have your opponent, you watch tape on them
02:17so you know everything, all their tics, all their,
02:20why they step, why they throw head kicks,
02:22why they block certain things.
02:24When you break down Stipe, a guy many people
02:26consider the greatest, it's usually between him, Kane,
02:29and DC as the most skilled heavyweights.
02:31Do you see him as the most skilled heavyweight
02:33the UFC has ever seen, and possibly the most skilled
02:36opponent you've faced in the UFC?
02:43I think actually Daniel Cormier is probably the most skilled.
02:49His Olympic level wrestling, his dirty boxing,
02:54his boxing, but Stipe's beat Daniel Cormier.
02:58Stipe, he deserves to be here, man.
03:00He can wrestle.
03:02He always comes lean and in shape.
03:05He has great cardio, and he has that right hand.
03:10You know, whether it's the straight right,
03:11the overhand right, or the right uppercut.
03:13That's his real weapon, that's his ticket.
03:18We're very aware of that, and we're very prepared for that.
03:21And just last one for me, I remember
03:23when you were prepared to fight Gustafson the first time,
03:26all the questions were about Glover,
03:27because he had just kind of been on the rise.
03:29And then you fought Glover, and all the questions
03:31were about Daniel Cormier.
03:33Everyone was like, what are you going to do after Glover?
03:35Now everyone's talking about another guy not named Stipe.
03:37So I guess, why do you think that narrative has always
03:40followed your career?
03:40It's like, fans and media never focus on the fight you have.
03:44It's always on the one they want to see next.
03:47You know, I don't want to sound arrogant,
03:48but I think what it is, is being so good at what I do,
03:54that it's just almost never enough.
04:00I'm very aware that the Tom Aspinall is like,
04:04it's making more headlines than Stipe.
04:07And it's just the way that it is with me.
04:12You know, when I win, there's always an excuse.
04:14Oh, he really wasn't that well-rounded, or.
04:19Yeah, it's an interesting place to be in.
04:24And it's hard to compare to any other fighter,
04:26because I don't think any other fighter in our sports history
04:29has ever had to deal with it.
04:31You know, I just beat Cyril Gane.
04:35And we can go back in a time machine
04:37and hear the way that people talked about Gane,
04:41his athleticism, and his speed.
04:43I mean, what he did to Tytus Tavassa.
04:45And then as soon as I beat him, he's like,
04:49oh, well, he wasn't that, or he's this.
04:52So it's a very interesting place to be in.
04:55And it just is what it is.
04:59John, with that narrative, you've obviously
05:00been having a little bit of fun with it
05:02in the lead up to this fight.
05:03You're saying quack quack on Twitter,
05:05addressing the duck things.
05:06What are those fans getting wrong?
05:08Why are you not ducking Tom Aspinall?
05:10What are they reading wrong about this situation?
05:12OK, so I feel like narratives have been created
05:15that just truly aren't there.
05:17You can't duck a man that you were never scheduled to fight.
05:21It's like saying you got turned down by a girl
05:24who you never even hit on.
05:26You know what I'm saying?
05:27It's like me and Dana and Hunter have never
05:30sat down and talked about Tom Aspinall.
05:33He's never been on my radar.
05:36Never.
05:38I mean, just a moment ago, it was him and Sergey
05:41that was fighting.
05:42And Sergey could be in this position right now.
05:44And I would still be in the same place of I
05:49beat people my whole career.
05:50And once I beat them, the show just goes on.
05:56The France fans, the French fans were just all over my case.
05:59And I just beat their guy.
06:02And I find myself constantly in the same position of, oh, wow.
06:07He just beat another guy.
06:10What's next?
06:10You know what I mean?
06:11When I beat Glover Teixeira, he was on a 25 winning streak.
06:15And you beat Glover, and then everything just moves on.
06:18So for me personally now, it's just like I get
06:21that Tom is an exciting fighter.
06:25I get that finally, after 16 years,
06:28we found somebody who's seven years younger than me
06:30and 30 pounds bigger than me.
06:32We finally found someone who may give me a great challenge.
06:35And everyone wants to see it so bad.
06:37But for me, it's like, what's in it for me?
06:42He changes nothing if I beat him.
06:45Beating Tom is just like beating Cyril Gane.
06:50Has a whole country behind him.
06:51He's hot right now.
06:53What happens to me after I beat him?
06:54Nothing changes for me.
06:59So I'm not ducking Tom Aspinall.
07:02If I fell to fight Stipe, I would be ducking Stipe.
07:06Because we contractually have been signed up
07:08to fight over a year ago.
07:10This is Stipe's position.
07:12The Tom narrative came out of nowhere.
07:13He won a belt, and now suddenly I'm ducking him.
07:15I've never had negotiations to even fight him,
07:17if this makes sense.
07:19So the fans are just ignoring it.
07:21They're ignoring all logic.
07:22And they just have finally found someone
07:25that they think can compete with me.
07:26And everyone wants to see it now.
07:29I guess the clarifying question then
07:30is if Dana and Hunter do come to you after this fight,
07:33the figures make sense to you, would you
07:35then be open to fighting Tom Aspinall,
07:37or are you categorically thinking,
07:38he does nothing for me, I will not fight that guy?
07:41He does nothing for me.
07:42He does nothing for me.
07:45If you're a person that wants to see me really challenged,
07:48then I get it.
07:49Like I said, seven years younger,
07:52like 35 pounds bigger than me.
07:55I get it.
07:56It's like, wow, this John's so good,
07:57we finally found someone way younger and way bigger
07:59than him.
08:00Let's see how he does against that.
08:02I get that narrative.
08:03But for me, if you were my manager,
08:05if you were on my team, why not fight against Pereira,
08:08a guy who's the same age as you, and we walk around
08:11the same as X size?
08:13Right now, I had to eat a big breakfast
08:15because I'm getting underneath 235.
08:19Pereira walks around at like 240.
08:21And he has magnificent accolades.
08:26Business-wise, it makes more sense.
08:28Fight the, I'm going to call him this,
08:30fight the nobody that may be more dangerous,
08:35or fight the guy with all the accolades
08:38who's incredibly dangerous, but it actually
08:42will affect your legacy.
08:44Me beating Cerro Gane didn't change anything for me.
08:47Just gave me a few more millions.
08:49And it would be the same for Tom Aspinall,
08:51where when you look back and it's like,
08:52John just beat Alex Pereira.
08:55It's bigger.
08:56It's just much bigger.
08:57And anybody who can't understand that logic,
08:59simply doesn't want to.
09:02Last one for me, the gloves.
09:03It looks like we're switching back to the old UFC gloves
09:06after these new ones came in in June.
09:08Do you have any thoughts on that?
09:09Are you excited about using the old gloves?
09:10And what is your opinion on that?
09:11I'm really excited about the old gloves.
09:14I got sent a pair of the new gloves several weeks ago.
09:17I tried them on, and I thought they were tight.
09:21I used to fit an XL.
09:22And then the new glove, I had to put on a 3XL.
09:26The shape, curving your hands like that,
09:29they were very uncomfortable for me.
09:30And I was actually really stressed thinking about,
09:32how am I going to go into fight week wearing these gloves
09:35that I don't even want to train in?
09:38So when I got a phone call recently,
09:40Hunter said, everyone on this corridor are veterans.
09:43Why put a bunch of vets in a new glove?
09:45Let's give you guys all what you're used to.
09:47It was a major relief to my coach, Brandon,
09:49who wraps my hands.
09:51It was a major relief to me as well.
09:54John, I'll be up to your right.
09:56So Dana calls you the greatest fighter of all time.
09:58Many people agree with that.
10:00I agree with that.
10:02That said, a lot of the other GOATs in all the sports,
10:04Tom Brady, Usain Bolt, Simone Biles, those kind of people,
10:08they kind of sidestep the GOAT talk.
10:11But you embrace it, and you'll be online,
10:13and you almost seem insulted if anybody says someone else is.
10:17Like, why is it so important to you?
10:19You know, I don't know if I agree with me being insulted
10:22if they say anybody else is.
10:25Dana definitely advocates for me.
10:27True.
10:27I think more than I advocate for myself, and it means a lot.
10:32MMA is just a different sport.
10:35You know, like, throwing a football is very tough.
10:38And I'm a massive Tom Brady fan.
10:41I'm a massive LeBron James fan and Michael Jordan fan,
10:43and you name all the greats in the other sports.
10:45But fighting transcends a lot.
10:48It's just different.
10:50I mean, you get billionaires in their office,
10:53and you look in their office, and they
10:55have pictures of Muhammad Ali.
10:57You can be black, white, Jewish, Muslim, Christian,
11:02and people just look up to fighters differently.
11:09It's just a different thing to wear.
11:14It's a different honor to have.
11:15It's a different badge to possess.
11:18And you know, Muhammad Ali himself, he went around,
11:21and he said, I am the greatest.
11:24And we remember that to this day.
11:27You know, I could walk around and say, I am the greatest,
11:29and you would know I was representing Muhammad Ali.
11:32And even Mike Tyson, you know, like, with his greatness.
11:36It's polarizing in a different way.
11:39And if I've gotten this close to be
11:42considered in that realm of conversation,
11:45then I might as well embrace it, and I might as well
11:48advocate for myself, because reaching this level just
11:57doesn't come often.
11:58What I've done is a really special thing,
12:00and sometimes you've got to be your own biggest cheerleader.
12:04And in this case, I want to be that.
12:06I want to stand up for that.
12:08My mom, who's not here anymore, she will want me to do that.
12:12Last one for me.
12:14I agree that the Alex Brer fight would be massive.
12:16Obviously, the accolades, I think,
12:18is a really strong argument you make.
12:19That said, I think one of the critiques people have
12:22is not that you picking Alex over Tom.
12:25It's the, he doesn't deserve the fight me statement.
12:30When you compare his career at this point
12:32to when you got a title shot, he has more wins, more stoppages,
12:36more wins against ranked opponents, more main events.
12:40He's got the interim title.
12:41So what is your response to people saying, like,
12:43not that you take it out of prayer.
12:46Gosh, the guy's amazing.
12:48But Tom doesn't deserve me comment.
12:53Well, maybe I didn't phrase it right.
12:56Maybe I didn't phrase it right.
12:58The truth is, he does deserve many great things in his life.
13:03And I wish him to have a magnificent UFC career.
13:07I really do.
13:09I have nothing personal against Tom.
13:16So maybe I shouldn't have said that he doesn't deserve,
13:18because he does deserve great things.
13:20What I'd like to see him do is go on and have a great career.
13:25You know, so many times, people like
13:26to just try to go straight to the top, you know?
13:30And if we were in a business setting, where he is
13:32and where I am, he wouldn't even be crossing paths with me.
13:36He wouldn't even be talking to me.
13:37You know what I'm saying?
13:39That's just what it is.
13:43It's not about what Tom deserves or don't deserve.
13:45I believe it's what I do deserve.
13:47And after this many years with this company and all the work
13:50that I've put in, I believe I'm at a place where
13:52I deserve to be able to say, I don't want to fight that guy.
13:55I want to fight this guy.
13:56I want to fight that guy.
13:57And that's why I'd be more than willing to relinquish
14:00the belt. I don't feel like I need the heavyweight
14:02championship of the world.
14:03I feel like what I've created for myself
14:05is almost bigger than belts.
14:09To take a step back and say, hey,
14:11you become the heavyweight champion.
14:12Go ahead and let's see you become a 17-time champion.
14:15Or let's see you even beat Stipe's record.
14:17That's going to be hard for anybody to do.
14:20But what I do feel like I deserve
14:21is the ability to take a step back and say, hey,
14:25either I retire or I start fighting
14:26fights that make sense to my legacy.
14:29And Alex Pereira is the only fight right now
14:32that makes sense to my legacy, a guy who's young and, well,
14:36my age and active still and have something worthwhile to me.
14:42Fans around the world, a lot of people
14:44really want to see me lose.
14:46They really want to see me lose.
14:48To see me walk away with all the chips just irks people inside.
14:51And I'm glad to be in this position
14:53to walk away with all the chips.
14:57And yeah, at the end of the day, Pereira, man,
15:01Pereira is worth risking it for me.
15:04I don't know how many ways I can say it,
15:06but he just doesn't have the titles.
15:11He can have a finishing rate, high finishing rate,
15:14and all that type of stuff, but he doesn't have titles.
15:16And when you have 17 world titles,
15:20it only makes sense to fight somebody on your level.
15:23And Tom Aspinall and Alex Pereira
15:26are not on the same level.
15:28Maybe they're both excited.
15:30They have the same excitement level.
15:33But when it comes down to what they are doing,
15:36they're not on the same level.
15:37And so for me, when I have belts and I have money
15:40and all that type of stuff, I'm looking for the legacy stuff.
15:44Tom doesn't give that to me.
15:47Hype, I would shut up hype, but I've
15:48been doing that my whole life, is shutting up hype.
15:52Me, selfishly, I want legacy.
15:56That's what I want.
16:00John, down here to your right, I know you're undecided
16:08on retirement.
16:09With each passing interview, you're
16:12flip-flopping one way or the other.
16:15But if you could reflect on your career, do you have any regrets?
16:18Or do you think everything has panned out
16:19the way that it was supposed to pan out?
16:23I have many regrets.
16:25I have many regrets.
16:26But at the end of the day, I'm very aware
16:28that the man that I am today has turned out
16:30to be a pretty solid human being, individual, team
16:33player, neighbor.
16:37I mean, you name it.
16:39I'm really proud of the man that I am today.
16:42And I think everything that you go through in life,
16:44it shapes you.
16:45And I wouldn't have the wisdom that I have today
16:49if I hadn't gone through some of the things
16:51that I've gone through.
16:51So today, I'm a very, very proud man of who I am today.
16:56And yes, it's been a great career.
16:58I'm not sure if I answered your question.
17:01And as far as retirement, the idea for me
17:04is to go out there and beat Stipe.
17:07How rude of us is it to just be completely looking
17:11past Stipe already?
17:14So the main goal is to get past Stipe.
17:18And if I can do it in a really dominant, devastating fashion,
17:22then the desire in my heart would be like, OK,
17:25now it's Alex Pereira.
17:27And if the UFC doesn't want that to happen,
17:30because ultimately, it's the boss's decision,
17:33then it won't happen.
17:34And I'll just move on with my life.
17:37But one of the ways I look at it is,
17:39would you guys rather lose me or get one more super fight?
17:45And the only super fight that makes sense to me,
17:49not to everyone else, but to me and my team, is Alex Pereira.
17:53And what would you say is your favorite moment of your career?
17:56Favorite moment in the career would be back in 2011.
18:00The way that I felt in Newark, New Jersey,
18:04helping a couple who had just been robbed.
18:08I went to school for criminal justice.
18:10And to be able to take someone down and subdue them
18:14until the cops come and then win a world
18:17championship just moments later, man,
18:19I felt like I got to use my power for the right thing
18:23twice that day.
18:24And I'll never forget that day.
18:26That's probably the best moment of my career.
18:29Thank you, sir.
18:30Great questions.
18:35You budger.
18:36Look at you.
18:39My man right here, you're so patient.
18:42Is it about me or him?
18:43You.
18:43You.
18:45So my question is the question you have faced earlier,
18:49like years before.
18:50I just wanted to ask this on your not the final chapter.
18:53I really hope it's not final chapter for you in Octagon,
18:56but maybe in the middle of your final book.
18:59So the question sounds like this.
19:00Are you a bad guy trying to be good?
19:02Or are you a good guy trying to be bad?
19:03How would you answer this question right now?
19:05So I've answered that question before in the past.
19:07It went pretty viral.
19:09But I'll elaborate on that question.
19:12Some people are not going to want to hear this.
19:14But in the Christian faith, we believe
19:16that we're all born into sin.
19:18Naturally, we're all sinners.
19:20The moment that Adam bit that apple in the Garden of Eden,
19:24we all became kind of condemned to sin.
19:26And the way Christianity works is,
19:29it's a decision to accept Christ into your life
19:32and to accept Christ into your heart.
19:36And so naturally, my nature is a one of sin.
19:43And that's all of us.
19:45And I believe that it's our job to try to do the right things
19:51and to try to walk in the light instead of the darkness.
19:54So that's what I meant when I answered that question.
19:56I think we are all rotten at the end of the day
20:00and trying to do the right things.
20:02That's an amazing answer.
20:04Thank you, John.
20:06Hey, John, just a quick one for you, man.
20:08And I think it's been great.
20:11Your answers have seemed really honest.
20:13And it's like, yes, Alex Behera, from a business standpoint,
20:17makes more sense than Tom.
20:18And I also thought it was great that you
20:20were a guy seven years younger, 30 pounds heavier.
20:23I get it, why fans want to see it.
20:25And maybe some fans want to see you lose.
20:27But I also think fans just want to see you really challenged.
20:30They see you as like, you're this greatness.
20:32And we want to see greatness challenged.
20:33A lot of people, their favorite fight of yours
20:35is Alexander Gustafson.
20:37So is there still a part of you as a competitor that
20:41is drawn at all to that?
20:44I hear everything that you're saying.
20:46But I also like, and maybe that's
20:47just something about getting older
20:49and what you've accomplished in your career.
20:50But I think that's why people want to see it.
20:52They see it as like this great challenge.
20:54They want to see greatness challenged.
20:56Like, does that entice you at all still?
20:58There's a part of it that does.
21:00But if I'm being completely honest,
21:02I feel like Tom's been such an asshole that I don't
21:05want to do business with him.
21:07You know, it's just like, his fans have been so annoying.
21:10And obviously, you don't get this far in a career
21:13being affected by fans or whatnot.
21:15But he's just an asshole.
21:17You know, with his, you know, he's 30.
21:20So he's from this influencer generation
21:22where you hop online and the t-shirt sells and all that.
21:26I'm past that type of stuff.
21:27I'm like, bro, if you had a little bit more respect,
21:29maybe we could have worked something out, you know?
21:32But I just don't even want to do business with him.
21:37You know, at the end of the day, this is a business.
21:39And fighting me gives him an opportunity
21:41to change his life forever.
21:43And I don't even want to give him the opportunity.
21:46Like, he just played his cards wrong with me personally.
21:49And you know, I'm three years from being
21:51a 40-year-old grown man.
21:53You know what I'm saying?
21:54It's just like, the press conference,
21:59going through the whole shebang with him, I'd rather not do.
22:03But Hedo on the other side, respectful, cool,
22:06barely says much.
22:08It's like, I'll do business with you.
22:10I would risk it all with a human being like you.
22:15And you actually have the accolades to back up your shit.
22:18This other guy is just a big mouth who's hot today.
22:21There's been so many guys who's hot today who are just gone.
22:26You know, Sergey was in the same position not too long ago.
22:29Now he's starting to fall off already.
22:31I've just been around this sport too long
22:34to give a big mouth who's hot today the opportunity.
22:40All right, guys, thank you so much.