During fight week media availability, athletes are rarely far from their water bottles.
But only the heavyweights have the luxury of filling their plates with food and answering questions while enjoying their meals.
Q&A sessions aren't Stipe Miocic's thing, but at least he was eating a veggie wrap Wednesday afternoon during UFC 309 media day. This was his first extensive interaction with reporters since his last game more than three-and-a-half years ago.
“Those guys still suck,” said Miocic, the former heavyweight champion who will return in Saturday's main event at Madison Square Garden to challenge Jon Jones for the title he previously held twice. He mocked reporters for answering questions. “I've gotten better over the last few years. I've accepted it. I get it.”
For Miocic (20-4, 15 finishes), it's “part of the fight” and what's most important to him is finally getting a chance to regain the title he lost to Francis Ngannou in March 2021. That's true.
If Miocic had had his way, he would have run that little errand when he and Jones were first booked to appear at the Garden last November, but UFC 295 is just two weeks away. There was a delay due to a torn pectoral muscle for Jones.
At the end of the day, Miocic is happy to return from a multi-year layoff and have the fight he most wanted, against Jones (27-1, 17 finishes). Perhaps the GOAT of mixed martial arts, who suffered his only career loss 15 years ago. He entered after a controversial disqualification.
“I wanted Jon Jones more than anything,” Miocic said. “But it didn't happen, it didn't happen. But [I’m] I'm glad it worked out the way I wanted it to. ”
Unlike Miocic, a career heavyweight who also works as a full-time firefighter in his native Ohio, Jones made a name for himself as the most dominant light heavyweight champion in the history of the sport.
He is a newcomer to the UFC's largest division, winning the title vacated by Ngannou's free agent departure to the PFL in March 2023. He is just 1-0 at heavyweight.
Jones took three years away from competition to change his body in preparation for the move to heavyweight, but the champion recently told the Post that he has improved from the weight he weighed at 248 pounds when he won the title in a title fight against Cyril Gane. He said he's already back up to 235 pounds.
Miocic believes the big boys aren't the same competition Jones faced from his debut in 2008 to his heavyweight debut last year.
“It's definitely a different ball game when you're at heavyweight,” said Miocic, a former college baseball player and wrestler. “We have bigger players that hit harder and we're different in a lot of ways. Let's see. Just like him, I'm doing some things.”
Miocic presents a more balanced challenge to Jones than Gane, a French kickboxer with great athleticism and poor wrestling. That combination worked well for Jones, who hurt Gane in the round with a violent attack that combined high-level wrestling and wrestling. Ground and pound.
The Ohio native hits like a truck — just ask Daniel Cormier and Fabricio Werdum, guys he beat to win the heavyweight title twice — and he 's wrestling background makes him an easy target to draw into the Jones-friendly world.
No other fight in the UFC 309 fight order can match the attention of this headliner showdown, but one man who won't even be competing in the UFC this weekend is stealing the thunder from Jones vs. Miocic. That person is Tom Aspinall, who became interim champion last November. The night Jones and Miocic were first scheduled to meet.
Jones spent most of his time in front of the assembled media Wednesday, delving into his thoughts as the two-division champion looks ahead to his bout with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Pereira is a former kickboxing champion and holds multiple UFC titles. In the unification battle, he has a higher rank than Aspinall.
The revelations, published in the Post last week, upset many vocal fans and members of the media online.
Miocic is a relatively soft-spoken and pushy guy, but he's rarely had to deal with that. Furthermore, although the 42-year-old has not revealed the truth of the matter, there is a sense that he may be putting his career on the line on Saturday night, regardless of the outcome.
He's focused on the job at hand, tying Randy Couture's record of winning the UFC heavyweight title three times.
The first two each make sense, but Miocic imagines the third will be the most appealing.
“They are all special,” Miocic says. This is Jon Jones. It doesn't get any better or bigger than that. ”
