Jon Jones will defend the gold.
On July 7, UFC President Dana White announced that Jon Jones will defend the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295. The show will be held on November 11 at Madison Square Garden. Jones' fight with Miocic will be the main event of the card.
Jones' fight with Miocic had been in the works, but White officially announced it at the ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 290: Volkanovski vs Rodriguez.
IT’S OFFICIALLY HAPPENING --@JonnyBones vs @StipeMiocic for the heavyweight title will headline #UFC295 at Madison Square Garden!! pic.twitter.com/Que6RwEjo4
— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2023
At UFC 285, Jones returned from a three-year hiatus and defeated Ciryl Gane to win the vacant title, and he then named Miocic as the contender he'd like to face in his first defense. Jones is one of the most renowned fighters in UFC history; he is a two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and he set the record for the longest reign with the title (1,501 days).
Per UFC, Miocic has more title fight wins than any other heavyweight in history. Miocic, a two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, has not fought since UFC 260 in March 2021, where he lost the gold to Francis Ngannou.
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