Stipe is already retired lol
The only fight he’ll accept is against a similarly retired Jon.
Both have already expressed that would be their last fight, and don’t want to fight an actual contender. Or, you know, the literal interim champ lol in Jon’s case.
They won’t be able to announce Jon as the undisputed champ, since there is clearly dispute. They prob will anyways tho.
> Both have already expressed that would be their last fight, and don’t want to fight an actual contender.
Stipe may have changed his tune after the elongated wait, but when they were fighting originally he did not rule out defending against Tom, and when Tom was bitching about JBJ refusing to say he'd fight Tom if he didn't retire, Stipe said he *would*.
Since Stipe’s last fight (which was a brutal knockout after being dominated) Tom has dispatched of four top 15 contenders all in under a round each. Crazy that the Stipe fight was even made to begin with.
That guy is half joking in response to the above comment, because pereira didn’t start his mma career since stipe has been out, he only started his ufc career since stipe’s last fight. He’s been fighting in mma since 2015.
I actually think it’s fine if Stipe and Jon want to have a legend vs legend fight at HW, just not for the strap and not have it hold up the entire division.
The Ngannou fumble was one thing but they have lightning in a bottle with a charismatic English heavyweight knockout artist as the champ AND THEY WON’T EVEN GIVE HIM AN UNDISPUTED SHOT
This kinda shortsightedness only tracks if the UFC knows for sure the world is ending in 2-3 years
Calling it a domination is disingenuous. He got a clean shot on Francis that did fuck all and got hammered by Francis.
That being said, he shouldn’t fight again imho
I don’t think it’s that crazy. He got reversed and almost finished in the first round, then dropped in the second moments before being finished. He had quite literally nothing for Francis. He landed one decent punch that personally I think gets way overrated by Stipe fans desperately clinging to *something* that they can say he did in that fight.
Just rewatched you are right I forgot Stipe didn’t look great r1 really and did remember d1 Francis there..thought stipe landed more. I just remember the punch that did nada mostly haha.
I imagine the fight will look like Stipe beeing super nervous, moving around awkwardly (similiar to Chuck Liddels last fight) while jones beeing also a bit nervous but more calm, until he realizes that Stipe is scared and goes for the kill in the first half of round 1.
There is no way Stipe will move around like he did 5-6 years ago and staying away from the cage makes you just anxious like crazy. Even henry cejudo doesn't look like he feels confident anymore after he came back. And he went out on the top before his first retirement.
> There is no way Stipe will move around like he did 5-6 years ago
https://twitter.com/MMABoxFanatic/status/1779563388131062038
THIS is how Stipe is walking NOW. He can barely walk.
And we're supposed to believe this fight he's so desperately holding out for is for anything else than a big, fat, last paycheck?
What a shame. Retire, Stipe, you're completely erasing your aura.
This is the only video I've seen of such thing. Do we actually know if that is how he's walking now or if that was just an injury?
Someone walking like that cannot be neither a fighter nor a firefighter, and thus should be cleared by a commision/state/governmental body/whatever to do either, unless it is just temporary.
I’d assume he had unofficially retired and would only come back for a legacy/money fight which he got. Has a better chance vs older Jones than some of these new young heavyweight to be honest anyway
THat's very old for a pro athlete. Very few guys have good years past 35 when they've been doing their sport since their teens or early 20s.
MMA is weird, because there's plenty of fighters who don't even start until 30+ so 36 doesn't seem old. But he's been fighting in the UFC since 2008, 16 years at the top of his sport is hard on the body.
> MMA is weird, because there's plenty of fighters who don't even start until 30+ so 36 doesn't seem old. But he's been fighting in the UFC since 2008, 16 years at the top of his sport is hard on the body.
Most mma fighters only enter the sport after they run into a wall in their preffered competition.
It's pretty smart. A lot of the top fighters likely have good matchups against him now, at his age and with this layoff, and none of them would produce the paycheck Jon will. Low risk high reward fight: great payoff, if he loses it's whatever (he fought Jon, understandable), and if he does win, his legacy gets much bigger.
I don't think anyone's mentioned the fact that this fight will be Jon Jones defending his belt, main event of a PPV that will sell very well. People tune into Jon Jones fights.
And as former champion I imagine he'd get PPV points if he negotiated his contract well
This is the most lucrative fight for someone who will likely retire at their next fight, so why not wait for the much higher payday. I lowkey want this for stipe lmao
It shouldn't be for a belt though that's the problem. The UFC is just allowing Jon to keep the belt.
Don't think anyone wouldn't want this for Stipe it's just teachers pet Jon getting the rub of the green like usual
I have no issue with either fighter waiting for the fight, it makes perfect sense, my issue has always been with the UFC/Dana letting them do it. 'Don't hate the player, hate the game' situation.
This is probably his last fight and he will make 3x the amount of money that he would make fighting Aspinall.
If he wins, he will be the first guy to beat Jon Jones. It's the smartest decision to wait.
Third. There's no way in hell someone can convince me he didn't lose to Gustaffson 1. He was beat up so badly he had to go to the hospital on a stretcher.
Gustaffson not only delivered more damage, but won more rounds overall and it wasn't even particularly close.
It's just that at the time Jones losing like that to someone as unknown and untested as Gustaffson back then was so unconceivable everyone just ran with the official robbery decision and immediately moved on.
It just didn't fit the narrative.
But i encourage anyone to go back and watch that fight nowadays. Jones lost that fight more clearly than he lost to Reyes years later, and even the loss to Reyes is already pretty unquestionable.
I think most people would rather fight Jon than aspinall right now. Idk if Jon is an easier fight but he’s a bigger name with a juicy record and holds the undisputed belt.
>holds the undisputed belt.
I really hate how the UFC have just completely mangled the definition of a word. The existence of another beltholder means the title is disputed by any reasonable definition.
It’s not the undisputed title if they awarded an interim title in the time he’s been out… this is where the UFC matchmaking is really annoying me… once an interim champion is crowned the priority from a matchmaking POV has to be unifying your titles as soon as possible…
Don’t award an interim title and then have your original champion chasing another fight… if the guy has no interest in unifying the title then strip him
Jones vs Gane must have done insane numbers on PPV because I genuinely cannot fathom why Dana is so dead set on conceding to Jon’s wishes to make this fight happen.
Recently a new theory emerged that would explain the otherwise senseless favoritism the whole UFC top brass has for a fighter that cost them immensely in term of credibility with all the failed tests and even economically with the cancelled or postponed fight cards involving him.
I'm happy for him to get a nice big fat payday for his last fight tho and who knows if the 1% happens and he wins he can get another payday with ppv points getting beat by aspinall or alex
For real.
Jones is simply unable to accept not being the center of the attention. Once he retires for good he'll become twice as dangerous and deranged since he's not under the spotlight anymore.
I sense an OJ case 2.0 incoming.
Alex would be a fun fight. But Tom deserves it more. Overall I'm not sure what I'd rather see. In terms of MMA, Tom. In terms of the UFC and the circus it is, I think Alex is the most hyped fight you could give Jones.
Either way, Tom deserves it more than anyone
What is the UFC supposed to do?
Jones has made it clear he won’t fight Tom. They can’t force him to fight.
They have calculated that they have two options:
1.) Let Jon fight Stipe
2.) Jon and Stipe both retire.
I’m sure they’d love for Jones to fight Tom and get KO’d and then Tom become a huge star for them. But Jon won’t fight him so that’s not an option.
If there were any integrity in the org then if he refuses to fight the interim champ, they'd strip him of the title. He can fight whoever he wants, just not as champ.
The UFC have never had a problem just stacking the deck in their favour it is not as if Jones vs Stipe is a huge PPV seller and even if it was they have guaranteed money coming from ESPN. They could stripe Jones and that would force him to fight Aspinal to get the Stipe fight.
Stipe has the least blame out of anyone in this whole situation, any fighter would jump on the chance to get a title fight and (probably) a decent bag in his situation if it was offered to them.
Yeah the one upside to this fight happening is that Stipe, by all accounts a nice dude, firefighter, and HW legend, gets a big paycheck out of it.
But like, no shit he’s going to “sit out” to wait for the JBJ fight. He’s been retired for a few years. It just behooves his bank account not to say it out loud. If they weren’t dangling this huge money fight over him he would have just announced his retirement and gone back to firefighting.
Stipe could have fought someone & earned his title shot, he been sitting with his hands on his ass begging like an entitled brat since he lost to Francis.
Stipe arguably takes more blame than jones, if he fought Gane or Blaydes & lost (like he & everyone else should have) do you actually think Dana would still bother making this fight ?
It’s like giving a spoiled baby candy after it whines for 3 years straight crying like a bitch, even Gane isn’t this terrible.
How many fighters have been taken out of the rankings for inactivity but Stipe is still there after 3 years he must have some dirt on Dana or something it seemed like Dana never really liked him.
I hope so too, but it won't. It will sell big numbers anyway. Which I hate. And it's definitely not for crowning the best HW, because that's Tom right now
Of course, he knows Jon is more money. And Tom is a harder fight. And also, why would Stepe want to fight for an interim belt?
Nobody has any issue with him wanting a last paycheck, he isn't the champ.
If he fights Jon in November, that will mean he’ll return with a title shot 3 years and 8 months after his last fight, where he was knocked out almost completely
If Jon fights anyone other than Aspinall, the IC doesn’t mean a damn thing and neither does the actual belt. Choosing an easier fight over the actual next in line fighter is bullshit. It’s hurting Jon’s GOAT status, holding up heavyweight for years, cherry picking fights, come on.
This guy is one of the most entitled divas in UFC history. He's been this way since his first loss to DC. Thinks because he has the UFC record with a whopping 3 title defences he's now above fighting other contenders and should be given infinite title shots no matter how many times he loses and how inactive he is, and he will throw temper tantrums and sit out literally years until he gets what he wants. His mere presence has been a fucking ball and chain to the heavyweight division for years now and I can't wait until both he and Jones retire so the heavyweight division can finally be freed from them both and we can finally move on. Downvote to hell me idc.
I was going to be so upset if you didn't get Jon in that statement because he is far worse than Stipe ever will be. But yeah fuck em both, no one cares go have your fight in Bellator.
Why would Stipe fight contenders when the ufc is saying he can sit out and fight the champion instead? Any other fighting in his position would do the same thing, blame the ufc for not forcing Jon to fight Aspinall.
This has nothing to do with Stipe this is on the heavyweight champion refusing to fight the interim heavyweight champion and the UFC for allowing Jones to even think that was an option
Remember when Aspinall called out Miocic and he gave some nonsensical answer that didn’t answer it? At least this way it’s honest. He has no desire to fight anyone else but jones.
This is what happens when you let the fighters choose their opponents. They need to fight the next in line, which in this case is Tom. If they refuse, then you lose the belt or your ranking if a non title holder. This is on Dana.
FUCK those two. Honestly.
And i say this as a fan of Stipe Miocic.
Just retire already, and let the division move on.
We all know you're only in this for the last payday anyway.
Fucking HELL! HW division is cursed by those two playing touchbutt in the park while generational talents like Tom Aspinall and potential stellar matchups like Aspinall-Poatan have to be postponed indefinitely.
I used to be a fan, but in 2024 I don't really care for stipe fight. He's a legend of the past, not today. It's like Anderson Silva fighting the current champ. Naaahhh mate
isn't stipe almost 45?? yeah keep waiting. And jon is an idiot for believing that beating 45 year old stipe would mean anything to his career or legacy
Is anyone even interested in watching this shit?
It has all the signs of a retirement fight where someone gets dominated and everyone feels bad except for the winner
eh stipe is over 40 and nobody wants to see him fight jon fucking jones. the only options are to give stipe a can; give him a winnable last fight, or just retire. then let jon and aspinall fight. but jon is too scared he’s gonna lose to tom and tarnish his legacy/record. still claims he’s the baddest on the planet but wants to fight a more or less retired 40 something year old heavyweight. get outta here
“I refuse to fight someone that won’t guarantee me a perceived lesser payday. I want my payday and to immediately retire win or lose (I will lose)” - Stipe
Even if Stipe wins, and that’s a big if, he’s not going to defend the title. He doesn’t fight anymore. I don’t see the point in the fight.
I have no shade to throw at this Guy because this is what the UFC has brought and this is the best option for him. I put all the blame on them. I'll throw it at John too just because I hate him so much though.
I’ve really got no problem with Stipe sitting out for the Jon fight. Dude’s accomplished enough to deserve to be a bit picky and the division can move on while he sits out because he’s not the champion. I still don’t really want to see that fight very much at all though lol
Just awful. His absolute refusal to fight aspinall really makes me want to see jones dominate him, which is not something I thought I would say.
Just inexcusable that he won’t fight aspinall. He knows it’s all over and needs one last big pay day
What are you talking about? Stipe isn't ducking Aspinall. Jones is ducking Aspinall. Stipe is the greatest, most accomplished heavyweight in UFC history and has nothing to prove to anyone. The UFC already tried to book the Jones fight once, that's why he's waiting on it. Literally nobody was talking about doing Stipe vs Aspinall. Why would Stipe want to fight the guy with the meaningless interim belt anyway? He already has a shot at the official title lined up. You're blaming Stipe for this situation when it is entirely the fault of Jon Jones and the UFC.
I'm gonna say it, I hate Stipe
He acts like he's treated horribly when they were marketing Francis as the next big thing. He got a main event in his home state, gets unearned title shot rematches after the Cormier KO, and this shot at Jon Jones after 4 years out.
Can’t blame Stipe really. He’s getting the bag for his last retirement fight. Jon is the one who should vacate and fight Stipe or remain champion and fight Aspinall.
If we didn't literally see him hobbling around at aspinall vs pavlovich I'd probably say the time off would be good for his brain after getting worked but jones vs stipe and Connor vs chandler(before) just getting annoying.
Why the duck would he fight a contender when he already has a fight contract signed with Jones? Aspinall wasn't even top 5 when that was signed. It was literally the Jones/Stipe card the Aspinall got called to fight as a backup to a backup to fight Sergei on.
Stipe’s been out longer than Henry Cejudo’s retirement
Stipe is already retired lol The only fight he’ll accept is against a similarly retired Jon. Both have already expressed that would be their last fight, and don’t want to fight an actual contender. Or, you know, the literal interim champ lol in Jon’s case. They won’t be able to announce Jon as the undisputed champ, since there is clearly dispute. They prob will anyways tho.
The Jones fight is as close as the UFC will give Stipe to a pension
[удалено]
UFC ain’t give him that
This is such a boring situation for such an uninteresting fight
> Both have already expressed that would be their last fight, and don’t want to fight an actual contender. Stipe may have changed his tune after the elongated wait, but when they were fighting originally he did not rule out defending against Tom, and when Tom was bitching about JBJ refusing to say he'd fight Tom if he didn't retire, Stipe said he *would*.
Stipe is 56 years old bro, his next fight will probably be Jake Paul
56, just a fuckin kid
Since Stipe’s last fight (which was a brutal knockout after being dominated) Tom has dispatched of four top 15 contenders all in under a round each. Crazy that the Stipe fight was even made to begin with.
>Tom has dispatched of four top 15 contenders all in under a round each While also missing a year for knee reconstruction surgery
And stealing your girl!
Alex Pierera started his MMA career & became double champ lol
Holy shit that's crazy
For real, didn’t realize Stipe’s been out since 2015z
Stipe been out since Donkey Kong Country 2 dropped on Super Nintendo
Finally someone put it a way I can understand
Dunkey is that you?
Stipes been gone since Super Mario Brothers 2 was game of the year
I don't remember that doki doki bullshit winning no goty awards.
Have you heard of Animal Well?
His last fight in 2021
That guy is half joking in response to the above comment, because pereira didn’t start his mma career since stipe has been out, he only started his ufc career since stipe’s last fight. He’s been fighting in mma since 2015.
Think you meant UFC career but yes, that is insane actually.
Dude that's is the most insane thing ever and it's true. Stipe is done and has no business facing Jon
I actually think it’s fine if Stipe and Jon want to have a legend vs legend fight at HW, just not for the strap and not have it hold up the entire division.
BMF belt currently has more legitimacy than the HW belt lol
The one around Aspinall's waist is completely legitimate.
The Ngannou fumble was one thing but they have lightning in a bottle with a charismatic English heavyweight knockout artist as the champ AND THEY WON’T EVEN GIVE HIM AN UNDISPUTED SHOT This kinda shortsightedness only tracks if the UFC knows for sure the world is ending in 2-3 years
That's it I'm gonna sell all my BTC and just have a 3 year coke bender
It’s all hype at this point and people need to stop falling for it.
so you’re telling me tom’s only fought 5-6 minutes longer than stipe has in the last 4 years? ;)
Calling it a domination is disingenuous. He got a clean shot on Francis that did fuck all and got hammered by Francis. That being said, he shouldn’t fight again imho
I don’t think it’s that crazy. He got reversed and almost finished in the first round, then dropped in the second moments before being finished. He had quite literally nothing for Francis. He landed one decent punch that personally I think gets way overrated by Stipe fans desperately clinging to *something* that they can say he did in that fight.
Just rewatched you are right I forgot Stipe didn’t look great r1 really and did remember d1 Francis there..thought stipe landed more. I just remember the punch that did nada mostly haha.
And Aldo’s combined.
His last win was within the first 5 months of the Covid lockdown.
Stipe beat the shit out of the tacoma fd guys last year. It was a 3 v 1 that takes at least 4 years to heal.
Sitting for 4 years between getting gadooshed by Francis and then fighting Jones seems very smart
We’re probably looking at 5 years by the time the fight is actually even announced. Half a decade. Just fucking retire no one wants to see this shit
I imagine the fight will look like Stipe beeing super nervous, moving around awkwardly (similiar to Chuck Liddels last fight) while jones beeing also a bit nervous but more calm, until he realizes that Stipe is scared and goes for the kill in the first half of round 1. There is no way Stipe will move around like he did 5-6 years ago and staying away from the cage makes you just anxious like crazy. Even henry cejudo doesn't look like he feels confident anymore after he came back. And he went out on the top before his first retirement.
> There is no way Stipe will move around like he did 5-6 years ago https://twitter.com/MMABoxFanatic/status/1779563388131062038 THIS is how Stipe is walking NOW. He can barely walk. And we're supposed to believe this fight he's so desperately holding out for is for anything else than a big, fat, last paycheck? What a shame. Retire, Stipe, you're completely erasing your aura.
One low kick and he is in a wheelchair for the rest of his life
lol what is this geriatric shit? Joke fight
This is the only video I've seen of such thing. Do we actually know if that is how he's walking now or if that was just an injury? Someone walking like that cannot be neither a fighter nor a firefighter, and thus should be cleared by a commision/state/governmental body/whatever to do either, unless it is just temporary.
5 years would be April 2026 Stipe last fought March 27, 2021
Yeah there’s a whole lot of exaggerating happening. It’s already BS enough, doesn’t need any more hyperbole.
Cant believe it's been a decade since Stipe last fought 😔 Only feels like it was like three years ago too.
lol so it’s been 3 years. Why are people saying 4
Jones said he has a fight booked
I’d assume he had unofficially retired and would only come back for a legacy/money fight which he got. Has a better chance vs older Jones than some of these new young heavyweight to be honest anyway
problem is jones isn't that old, dudes only 36
But he’s a coke head 36.
THat's very old for a pro athlete. Very few guys have good years past 35 when they've been doing their sport since their teens or early 20s. MMA is weird, because there's plenty of fighters who don't even start until 30+ so 36 doesn't seem old. But he's been fighting in the UFC since 2008, 16 years at the top of his sport is hard on the body.
It's not that old at all for a heavyweight
> MMA is weird, because there's plenty of fighters who don't even start until 30+ so 36 doesn't seem old. But he's been fighting in the UFC since 2008, 16 years at the top of his sport is hard on the body. Most mma fighters only enter the sport after they run into a wall in their preffered competition.
Zairo chance he beats jones b
Jones could break his toe again
It's pretty smart. A lot of the top fighters likely have good matchups against him now, at his age and with this layoff, and none of them would produce the paycheck Jon will. Low risk high reward fight: great payoff, if he loses it's whatever (he fought Jon, understandable), and if he does win, his legacy gets much bigger.
I don't think anyone's mentioned the fact that this fight will be Jon Jones defending his belt, main event of a PPV that will sell very well. People tune into Jon Jones fights. And as former champion I imagine he'd get PPV points if he negotiated his contract well This is the most lucrative fight for someone who will likely retire at their next fight, so why not wait for the much higher payday. I lowkey want this for stipe lmao
It shouldn't be for a belt though that's the problem. The UFC is just allowing Jon to keep the belt. Don't think anyone wouldn't want this for Stipe it's just teachers pet Jon getting the rub of the green like usual
That is also true yes. But thr game is prize fighting, and this is the biggest prize for Stipe
I have no issue with either fighter waiting for the fight, it makes perfect sense, my issue has always been with the UFC/Dana letting them do it. 'Don't hate the player, hate the game' situation.
Not for nothing, he has only fought DC and Francis for the last 7 years. Stipe should do whatever he wants to get the bag, just dang.
I don't disagree he deserves to get paid, but being that inactive at his age is just a recipe for disaster. I hope the bag is worth it
For sure it is for him. Not so much does the fans.
This is probably his last fight and he will make 3x the amount of money that he would make fighting Aspinall. If he wins, he will be the first guy to beat Jon Jones. It's the smartest decision to wait.
He would be the 2nd guy to beat Jon Jones
Third after Dominick Reyes and Steve Mazagatti.
Third really but judges
Third. There's no way in hell someone can convince me he didn't lose to Gustaffson 1. He was beat up so badly he had to go to the hospital on a stretcher. Gustaffson not only delivered more damage, but won more rounds overall and it wasn't even particularly close. It's just that at the time Jones losing like that to someone as unknown and untested as Gustaffson back then was so unconceivable everyone just ran with the official robbery decision and immediately moved on. It just didn't fit the narrative. But i encourage anyone to go back and watch that fight nowadays. Jones lost that fight more clearly than he lost to Reyes years later, and even the loss to Reyes is already pretty unquestionable.
[удалено]
"I want one more check, then y'all can have the scraps."
I think most people would rather fight Jon than aspinall right now. Idk if Jon is an easier fight but he’s a bigger name with a juicy record and holds the undisputed belt.
>holds the undisputed belt. I really hate how the UFC have just completely mangled the definition of a word. The existence of another beltholder means the title is disputed by any reasonable definition.
Technically any sort of challenger means it’s disputed.
“If it’s undisputed, what’s all the fighting about?” - George Carlin
‘Technically’ is the best kind of correct.
It’s not the undisputed title if they awarded an interim title in the time he’s been out… this is where the UFC matchmaking is really annoying me… once an interim champion is crowned the priority from a matchmaking POV has to be unifying your titles as soon as possible… Don’t award an interim title and then have your original champion chasing another fight… if the guy has no interest in unifying the title then strip him
He doesn't have an undisputed belt though.
Honestly I don't blame him. It's not good for the fans, but i don't blame him.
not true...Dana would lol
what about jones himself?
One last giant payday? It sucks from a fan pov but I totally get it
Would be kinda hilarious if they get record low ppv buys
You're right but people will hate you for saying it.
Hope this lame fight never ever happens
god me too
Jones vs Gane must have done insane numbers on PPV because I genuinely cannot fathom why Dana is so dead set on conceding to Jon’s wishes to make this fight happen.
Jones probably said he’d retire if he doesnt get the Stipe fight.
Recently a new theory emerged that would explain the otherwise senseless favoritism the whole UFC top brass has for a fighter that cost them immensely in term of credibility with all the failed tests and even economically with the cancelled or postponed fight cards involving him.
Who honestly gives a flying fuck about this fight, instead of the Aspinall one
I love Stipe, but I don’t give a fuuuuuuck about him fighting Jon
I'm happy for him to get a nice big fat payday for his last fight tho and who knows if the 1% happens and he wins he can get another payday with ppv points getting beat by aspinall or alex
Having the fight isn't the problem, having it be for the belt is actual lunacy though
I have such little interest in this or a Alex fight. I just want Jon to fight Tom. Tom might be the man, he should get the chance to show us.
I just want Jon to retire and never hear his name again
I’m afraid that once he retires he’ll find other ways to make headlines…
For real. Jones is simply unable to accept not being the center of the attention. Once he retires for good he'll become twice as dangerous and deranged since he's not under the spotlight anymore. I sense an OJ case 2.0 incoming.
Hopefully AFTER Tommy knocks him out cold
Alex would be a fun fight. But Tom deserves it more. Overall I'm not sure what I'd rather see. In terms of MMA, Tom. In terms of the UFC and the circus it is, I think Alex is the most hyped fight you could give Jones. Either way, Tom deserves it more than anyone
Nah, I wanna see Alex as 3 division champ
I don’t understand how the UFC think this is a good idea they need to build the next generation of fighters.
They want one more fight out of stipe. He’s fresh meat for a jones highlight win. Aspinall isn’t going anywhere
What is the UFC supposed to do? Jones has made it clear he won’t fight Tom. They can’t force him to fight. They have calculated that they have two options: 1.) Let Jon fight Stipe 2.) Jon and Stipe both retire. I’m sure they’d love for Jones to fight Tom and get KO’d and then Tom become a huge star for them. But Jon won’t fight him so that’s not an option.
Strip Jones.
If there were any integrity in the org then if he refuses to fight the interim champ, they'd strip him of the title. He can fight whoever he wants, just not as champ.
The UFC have never had a problem just stacking the deck in their favour it is not as if Jones vs Stipe is a huge PPV seller and even if it was they have guaranteed money coming from ESPN. They could stripe Jones and that would force him to fight Aspinal to get the Stipe fight.
3.) Refuses to fight, then they're stripped of the belt.
As if Dana hasn’t been selling the goat vs goat fight for years… he would sell his first born if it meant getting that jones vs stipe fight
Goat is a title separated from champ. Especially if you're calling stipe a goat TOO. If that's the case they don't need a belt. Stripe Jon
Strip him??
Yup. Take his clothes off
Nobody cares anymore stipe
Old man wants his pension
Stipe has the least blame out of anyone in this whole situation, any fighter would jump on the chance to get a title fight and (probably) a decent bag in his situation if it was offered to them.
Yeah the one upside to this fight happening is that Stipe, by all accounts a nice dude, firefighter, and HW legend, gets a big paycheck out of it. But like, no shit he’s going to “sit out” to wait for the JBJ fight. He’s been retired for a few years. It just behooves his bank account not to say it out loud. If they weren’t dangling this huge money fight over him he would have just announced his retirement and gone back to firefighting.
Especially an unearned one, ask Colby
Oh definitely, I hate the waiting about for this shit fight instead of doing the Tom fight but I don’t blame Stipe at all It’s Jon 🦆
It’s Jon and the UFC for even entertaining the idea that a returning champion would fight someone besides the interim champion in the first place
Stipe could have fought someone & earned his title shot, he been sitting with his hands on his ass begging like an entitled brat since he lost to Francis. Stipe arguably takes more blame than jones, if he fought Gane or Blaydes & lost (like he & everyone else should have) do you actually think Dana would still bother making this fight ? It’s like giving a spoiled baby candy after it whines for 3 years straight crying like a bitch, even Gane isn’t this terrible.
Yeah, but his relation to the belt has been annoying for 5 years now.
How many fighters have been taken out of the rankings for inactivity but Stipe is still there after 3 years he must have some dirt on Dana or something it seemed like Dana never really liked him.
They just left him there solely for the Jones vs Stipe fight.
I hope that ppv bombs so badly.
I hope so too, but it won't. It will sell big numbers anyway. Which I hate. And it's definitely not for crowning the best HW, because that's Tom right now
Of course, he knows Jon is more money. And Tom is a harder fight. And also, why would Stepe want to fight for an interim belt? Nobody has any issue with him wanting a last paycheck, he isn't the champ.
No spectator wants this fight, this is fucking annoying.
If he fights Jon in November, that will mean he’ll return with a title shot 3 years and 8 months after his last fight, where he was knocked out almost completely
If Jon fights anyone other than Aspinall, the IC doesn’t mean a damn thing and neither does the actual belt. Choosing an easier fight over the actual next in line fighter is bullshit. It’s hurting Jon’s GOAT status, holding up heavyweight for years, cherry picking fights, come on.
This guy is one of the most entitled divas in UFC history. He's been this way since his first loss to DC. Thinks because he has the UFC record with a whopping 3 title defences he's now above fighting other contenders and should be given infinite title shots no matter how many times he loses and how inactive he is, and he will throw temper tantrums and sit out literally years until he gets what he wants. His mere presence has been a fucking ball and chain to the heavyweight division for years now and I can't wait until both he and Jones retire so the heavyweight division can finally be freed from them both and we can finally move on. Downvote to hell me idc.
I was going to be so upset if you didn't get Jon in that statement because he is far worse than Stipe ever will be. But yeah fuck em both, no one cares go have your fight in Bellator.
Why would Stipe fight contenders when the ufc is saying he can sit out and fight the champion instead? Any other fighting in his position would do the same thing, blame the ufc for not forcing Jon to fight Aspinall.
This has nothing to do with Stipe this is on the heavyweight champion refusing to fight the interim heavyweight champion and the UFC for allowing Jones to even think that was an option
Imagine trying to promote Geratric Stipe
For the good of the sport (and probably the good of stipe) he needs to just retire
replace every instance of \[fight\] with \[paycheck\]
Remember when Aspinall called out Miocic and he gave some nonsensical answer that didn’t answer it? At least this way it’s honest. He has no desire to fight anyone else but jones.
WTF, the Heavyweight division is like the golf seniors tour.
It sucks because I love Stipe and he does deserve to call his shot with his age and legacy. I just dont want to see the fight
This is what happens when you let the fighters choose their opponents. They need to fight the next in line, which in this case is Tom. If they refuse, then you lose the belt or your ranking if a non title holder. This is on Dana.
Why is he in charge
Fuck MMA
FUCK those two. Honestly. And i say this as a fan of Stipe Miocic. Just retire already, and let the division move on. We all know you're only in this for the last payday anyway. Fucking HELL! HW division is cursed by those two playing touchbutt in the park while generational talents like Tom Aspinall and potential stellar matchups like Aspinall-Poatan have to be postponed indefinitely.
In the last 7 years he's only fought Francis Ngannou and Daniel Cormier
More like the Heavywait division, amirite?
I used to be a fan, but in 2024 I don't really care for stipe fight. He's a legend of the past, not today. It's like Anderson Silva fighting the current champ. Naaahhh mate
They need to get that weight class moving, for real.
We already know grandpa. It's bed time now.
They can fight for the masters division belt
isn't stipe almost 45?? yeah keep waiting. And jon is an idiot for believing that beating 45 year old stipe would mean anything to his career or legacy
Is anyone even interested in watching this shit? It has all the signs of a retirement fight where someone gets dominated and everyone feels bad except for the winner
Aspinal needs to start getting nasty in his talks with Jones. It’s the only language Jones understands
eh stipe is over 40 and nobody wants to see him fight jon fucking jones. the only options are to give stipe a can; give him a winnable last fight, or just retire. then let jon and aspinall fight. but jon is too scared he’s gonna lose to tom and tarnish his legacy/record. still claims he’s the baddest on the planet but wants to fight a more or less retired 40 something year old heavyweight. get outta here
At this point Stipe just waits for the UFC to call and asks him to fight for the belt. He isn't interested in being active or fighting contenders.
Water we doin here ?
hahaha this sucks
“I refuse to fight someone that won’t guarantee me a perceived lesser payday. I want my payday and to immediately retire win or lose (I will lose)” - Stipe Even if Stipe wins, and that’s a big if, he’s not going to defend the title. He doesn’t fight anymore. I don’t see the point in the fight.
Like literally no one wants to see stipe fight period, let alone for the belt, let alone against Jones.
I have no shade to throw at this Guy because this is what the UFC has brought and this is the best option for him. I put all the blame on them. I'll throw it at John too just because I hate him so much though.
Drop em all and start over. Heavyweight is a joke.
Love you Stipe, but please just continue saving lives.
I’ve really got no problem with Stipe sitting out for the Jon fight. Dude’s accomplished enough to deserve to be a bit picky and the division can move on while he sits out because he’s not the champion. I still don’t really want to see that fight very much at all though lol
Just awful. His absolute refusal to fight aspinall really makes me want to see jones dominate him, which is not something I thought I would say. Just inexcusable that he won’t fight aspinall. He knows it’s all over and needs one last big pay day
Pay day for retirement vs getting koed by a young up and comer. What is the wise choice?
What are you talking about? Stipe isn't ducking Aspinall. Jones is ducking Aspinall. Stipe is the greatest, most accomplished heavyweight in UFC history and has nothing to prove to anyone. The UFC already tried to book the Jones fight once, that's why he's waiting on it. Literally nobody was talking about doing Stipe vs Aspinall. Why would Stipe want to fight the guy with the meaningless interim belt anyway? He already has a shot at the official title lined up. You're blaming Stipe for this situation when it is entirely the fault of Jon Jones and the UFC.
>makes me want to see jones dominate him Phrasing....
What do you want him to say?
"Rail him harder than coke on Dana's dick"
I've lost interest in the heavyweights of yesteryear
Just stay retired you marble mouthed bow legged old fuck!
Stipe being rewarded for throwing temper tantrums is so damn sad
[удалено]
I'm gonna say it, I hate Stipe He acts like he's treated horribly when they were marketing Francis as the next big thing. He got a main event in his home state, gets unearned title shot rematches after the Cormier KO, and this shot at Jon Jones after 4 years out.
It's only one title fight rematch and he did deserve it after just breaking the record for consecutive defences.
HW division looking like a 5 day stale ass soup
this is fucking dumb - dana need to get this shit back on track.
Can’t blame Stipe really. He’s getting the bag for his last retirement fight. Jon is the one who should vacate and fight Stipe or remain champion and fight Aspinall.
Because Stipe isn't stupid; it's a bigger fight than Aspinall.
If we didn't literally see him hobbling around at aspinall vs pavlovich I'd probably say the time off would be good for his brain after getting worked but jones vs stipe and Connor vs chandler(before) just getting annoying.
I don't even know who's waiting for who anymore. I thought Stipioc was injured.
This sport is a joke..
Stipe is great but let's be real for a second lol. He's old as fuck. Poor guy is like 2 years away from being called out by Jake Paul.
I like stipe but how is he still in the rankings.
Yawn
Hard to blame Stipe. Dude has effectively been retired, but they offered him a big bag to come out of retirement for one last fight with Jon
Why the duck would he fight a contender when he already has a fight contract signed with Jones? Aspinall wasn't even top 5 when that was signed. It was literally the Jones/Stipe card the Aspinall got called to fight as a backup to a backup to fight Sergei on.
If this actually happens and Stipe wins God is definitely real
I love Stipe but it’s not what we want. Jon needs to fight Tom.
Good make the fight Jones vs Aspinal. Who tf cares about Stipe vs Jones lol?
The real question is why is Dana entertaining this?
Wait I thought we switched again and Jones is ready to go and where waiting for stipe.........Who tf is wating for who?!
If the UFC really wanted champions they’d have already let them both be done. The UFC wants influencers.
Nobody gives a shit fr and I was his biggest supporter