Report | Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic heavyweight title fight pushed back from UFC 290

Originally rumored to headline UFC 290 in Las Vegas during International Fight Week in the Summer, current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic’s blockbuster bout is now pushed back from the event scheduled for July 8.

Despite both Jones and Miocic entertaining the heavyweight title fight next, per a report from ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, the bout won’t occur at UFC 290 and will most likely be pushed back to the fall.

I've seen several tweets talking about Jones vs. Miocic at UFC 290 in July. That's still the fight all parties want next, but it won't happen in July and hasn't really been discussed for July in a while. Much more likely now for the fall.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) April 12, 2023

Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic pushed back from UFC 290

“I’ve seen several tweets talking about (Jon) Jones vs. (Stipe) Miocic at UFC 290 in July,” Raimondi tweeted. “That’s still the fight all parties want next, but it won’t happen in July and hasn’t really been discussed for July in a while. Much more likely now for the fall.”

Jones returned to competition at UFC 285 back in March with a spectacular first-round submission victory over Ciryl Gane, which saw him collect the vacant UFC heavyweight title and assert himself at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings.

Miocic, who many believe is the greatest heavyweight in the history of the company, lost his undisputed title to Francis Ngannou in March of 2021. Since then, the Ohio native has been on the sidelines awaiting an opportunity.

The comments come after UFC President Dana White publicized that Jon Jones had “disappeared” since winning the title last month against Gane at the UFC 287 post-fight presser.

“Jon Jones came out, and made quick work (of Gane) and poof, disappeared,” White said. “He went back to whatever he’s doing. He’s ready to fight, he wants Stipe, so we’ll figure it out. That’s the one he wants.”

As it stands, Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez are set to headline the card on July 8. in Las Vegas to unify the UFC featherweight strap. Today, it was announced that Brandon Moreno would defend his flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja, which will likely serve as the co-main event.