“Stop Crying!” Stipe Miocic Was Ready to Face Tom Aspinall But UFC “Gave Him Another Guy”

Stipe Miocic only wants to fight Jon Jones and if you don’t like that… well, stop crying because he doesn’t care.

The former UFC heavyweight champion hasn’t competed in over three years and continues to battle for his future “Bones” fight, much like the situation involving Michael Chandler and former two-division titleholder Conor McGregor.

The fact that Jones and Miocic were retained by the promotion has been a major talking point among fans and continues to frustrate current interim champion Tom Aspinall. That said, it appears the decision to hold off on Jones vs. Miocic came from the promotion and not the fighters.

“I get it. I would feel the same way but I’m not taking anything away from him,” Miocic told CBS Sports of Aspinall. “The UFC can do whatever they want. That’s just the way it is. There’s only one guy I want to fight, and that’s Jon Jones. But at the same time, the UFC can pick whoever they want. People don’t know this, but there’s been a couple other times where I was ready to fight him and they gave him another guy. What am I supposed to do? I’m not standing in the way of a division like everybody says. I don’t care. Do whatever you want and stop crying. I’m not saying he’s crying. I’m just saying like the fans and stuff like that.”

It’s the fault of those lunatics.

With Miocic sidelined until Jones fully recovers from the pectoral injury that torpedoed their UFC 295 headliner, Aspinall will defend the replacement belt in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event of the UFC 304 pay-per-view (PPV) later this month in Manchester.

The winner of this fight could face the winner of Miocic vs. Jones (barring that scenario).

“Everybody thinks he’s going to kick my ass,” Miocic said of Jones. “I don’t like being told that. I like to shut people down. He’s beatable. I know he is. Anybody can be beatable and I’ll be the first one to do it. I think I have a style that doesn’t fit his style well. If it’s reversed, it could be me. He does a lot of good things. He’s good with his range, his kicks and on the ground. I’m good at making it a fight. I’m technical but I can also get in a fight and make him really uncomfortable, like he can. I think it depends on who’s doing what they want to do. Unfortunately, I don’t like being told what to do, so I’m going to do what I want to do.”

Early reports indicate that Miocic will face Jones at some point in November.