Jon Jones explains why he 'forgave' Stipe Miocic.
Earlier this week, Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic had an added sense of bitterness ahead of their UFC Heavyweight title bout at UFC 309, with Jones refusing to shake Stipe's hand at an event. Jones would cite Miocic mentioning his kids as his reasoning for snubbing the hand shake. At the ceremonial weigh ins on Friday evening, Stipe would once again extend for a hand shake, with Jones accepting this time around.
Following the ceremonial weigh ins, Jones spoke to TNT Sports' Caroline Pearce about the hand shake and why he decided to 'forgive' Miocic.
"I felt like forgiveness is the right thing to do. I made it very clear that I was disappointed in the way that he made me feel. I know that he knows what he said, and at the end of the day, I wanted to show forgiveness."
Jones continued, noting that the fight remains a 'very personal' bout despite his forgiveness.
"Oh, it's very personal. Oh, it's going to be very personal. At the end of the day, fighting is a personal thing. He has a massive legacy. I have a pretty great reputation as well in the octagon, and at the end of the day, he's trying to take something away from me, my fans, my family, my coaches, my team, and I can't let him do it, so it's personal."
"It's the right thing to do" --
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) November 16, 2024
Jon Jones explains why he accepted the handshake from Stipe Miocic this time around --
--️ @carolinepearce#UFC309 Nov 16 LIVE on TNT Sports Box Office https://t.co/uXQAMHNTBd pic.twitter.com/tpog8oBEE7
Jones and Miocic will meet in the main event of UFC 309 later today at Madison Square Garden.
In the lead up to UFC 309, Jones has been vocal about his feelings about UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall. You can read more about that here.
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