Jon Jones is burying the hatchet with Stipe Miocic ahead of their heavyweight championship clash.
In the lead-up to UFC 309, headlined by Jones defending his title against Miocic, much has been made of Jones feeling insulted by various things that Miocic may or may not have said. It started with Jones reacting to Miocic calling him a b*tch on UFC Countdown and the beef spiraled from there.
Jones later refused to shake hands with Miocic following Thursday’s press conference and he claimed his opponent made comments about his children, which left Miocic confused. Jones explained that he was referring to comments Miocic allegedly made in an older video indirectly suggesting that Jones would be viewed as a bad father.
Despite the increasingly personal nature of their rivalry, Jones eventually shook Miocic’s hand at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins. He later told reporters why he decided to bury the hatchet.
“I felt like forgiveness is the right thing to do,” Jones said. “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 has had a shaky reputation outside of the cage. His public infractions include a hit-and-run conviction in 2015 (which resulted in Jones having to forfeit a UFC light heavyweight title), a failed drug test in 2017 that caused a win over then-champion Daniel Cormier to be overturned to a no-contest, and an arrest for domestic violence in 2021 (a domestic battery charge was later dropped as part of a plea deal).
Suffice to say, Jones knows a thing or two about just wanting to move on.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” Jones said, asked why he no longer had personal animosity for Miocic. “It’s what I represent and I thought it would be a good time to practice it.”
Though Jones is not focusing on any particular dislike of Miocic anymore, he insists that he still has plenty of reasons to be motivated for Saturday’s main event tilt.
“Oh, it’s very personal,” Jones said. “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.”
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