Stipe Miocic recently released some new training footage ahead of a not-yet-official heavyweight title showdown with current champion Jon Jones that’s expected to go down later this year, and many were left unimpressed by what they saw.
However, Jones isn’t convinced that the video is showing the former heavyweight champ at his best, and instead suspects that it might just be some pre-fight mind games from Miocic’s camp.
“I’m not a historian of war or anything, but I have learned a thing or two in my day,” Jones wrote on X. “A big part of combat strategy is timing and deception. To make a long story short, if your opponent appears weak, prepare even harder. Complacency is the greatest enemy to a fighter like myself.”
Jon Jones believes that Stipe Miocic may be deceiving him with newly released training footage
"A big part of combat strategy is timing, and deception. To make a long story short, if your opponent appears weak, prepare even harder."
IG / @stipemiocic #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/fsVsZqS8gz
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 27, 2024
There’s no doubt that there will be some question marks hanging over Miocic when this fight does eventually go ahead though given that he’s not fought in over three years since losing the title to Francis Ngannou via knockout back in 2021 and will turn 42-years-old in August.
Still, a long layoff doesn’t always prove to be a bad thing, as Jones himself proved last year when he returned from a three-year layoff to win the vacant heavyweight title with a first round submission finish of Ciryl Gane.
