Rumors suggest that Stipe Miocic has an injury that could potentially put his upcoming UFC championship bout against Jon Jones in jeopardy. Last year, Miocic was slated to take on Jones at UFC 295 in New York City. However, a pectoral muscle injury forced the reigning champion to withdraw from the fight. The consensus is that the matchup has been rescheduled for UFC 309 in November. However, interim champion Tom Aspinall’s shocking comments have piqued fans’ curiosity concerning Miocic and whether the former champion is injured.
Is Stipe Miocic injured?
Stipe Miocic has not sustained an injury, and the rumors are false.
Jon Jones sits atop the UFC heavyweight division. The former light heavyweight champion won the heavyweight strap last year at UFC 285. His first title defense was expected to be against Miocic. However, after their matchup at UFC 295 was scrapped, England’s Tom Aspinall claimed the interim title by defeating Serghei Pavlovich. Aspinall has been seeking a title-unification bout against Jones for quite some time now and recently claimed that Miocic could be injured.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Aspinall revealed that he’d heard rumors Miocic was injured via his inner circle. The towering Brit said, “I’m hearing rumors that Stipe is potentially injured. This is stuff that I’m hearing from [my] inner circle. Stipe, I believe his birthday was yesterday. Actually, I’ve seen he’s 42 years old. The guy is gonna be injury-prone.”
Nevertheless, Miocic has debunked the ongoing rumors on X (formerly Twitter). Responding to Aspinall’s unconfirmed claims, Miocic shared a GIF of Donald Trump that read “fake news.”
Miocic hasn’t fought since losing his title to Francis Ngannou in 2021. His matchup against Jones has been widely scrutinized, considering his age and his lack of wins since 2020. Additionally, with Aspinall having won and defended the interim belt, the heavyweight title picture is currently quite convoluted.
Aspinall will serve as the backup fighter for Jones vs. Miocic later this year. He will also be in attendance for the bout. In the same YouTube video, he said: “If you [Jon Jones] successfully defend against Stipe in November, I will be there front row. I want you to hand me the undisputed title as you walk past me, please.”
