UFC President Dana White remains fixated on making Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic happen in a massive market.
Jones earned the then-vacant heavyweight belt over Ciryl Gane in his return at UFC 285. Immediately after the first-round finish against Gane, Jones called for a clash with Miocic, who is arguably the greatest all-time UFC heavyweight.
While Jones vs. Miocic seemed destined for UFC 290, things have become uncertain in recent days. The two sides have accused the other of ducking the matchup.
Talks between Jon Jones, Miocic, and the UFC are ongoing, and Jones feels this fight could potentially be his last. If that’s the case, he wants to compete near where he grew up in the Empire State.
In a recent tweet, Jones issued an intriguing proposal for the targeted Miocic fight.
“How cool would it be to spend my retirement fight dominating the greatest heavyweight of all time, in my home state at Madison Square Garden?” Jones tweeted Saturday.
The UFC last hosted an event at MSG last November at UFC 281, featuring Alex Pereira’s come-from-behind win over Israel Adesanya. The promotion usually hosts at least one event annually in NYC.
During the ‘UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Allen’ post-fight press conference, White addressed the possibility of booking Jones vs. Miocic at MSG.
“As far as I know everything is good and hopefully we have a fight with him and Stipe very soon,” White said. “That’s where we’d like to do it.”
If Jon Jones vs. Miocic is booked for MSG, this would likely eliminate the venue as a possibility for the upcoming Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight. While the McGregor vs. Chandler matchup hasn’t been booked yet, MSG was in the mix for a potential location for the card.
Jon Jones, who grew up in Rochester, hasn’t fought in New York during his illustrious career. He has fought multiple times in nearby New Jersey, most recently against Chael Sonnen at UFC 159.
A fight announcement for Jones vs. Miocic seems inevitable, and the UFC is planning on putting arguably the biggest heavyweight fight in promotional history on a massive stage.