Las Vegas, NV — Jon Jones is now the UFC heavyweight champion — and the man who most recently held that title gave his response to “Bones” winning gold following UFC 285.
Jones defeated Ciryl Gane to claim the title vacated by Francis Ngannou on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Afterwards, Ngannou wrote “Good job, Jonny Boy” on social media, signing his message “Sincerely, the heavyweight king.”
Jones (27-1, 1NC) responded to “The Predator” while speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following Saturday’s card.
“Francis is a big ol’ p*ssy,” he stated bluntly.
Next up for Jones will not be Ngannou, who walked from the UFC to explore free agency. Instead, there’s a date with Stipe Miocic, who continues to hold the record for most heavyweight title defenses in the UFC.
International Fight Week in July was suggested by Joe Rogan as a landing spot for the fight. Asked about a time frame for his return, Jones deferred to his team.
“I’ve got to talk to my coaching staff and see what they think, but we took zero damage tonight, and I’m getting right back to practice,” said Jones. “My buddy Maurice Green has a fight coming up in the PFL, Yorgan De Castro has a fight coming up in the PFL. I owe it to my team to take the back seat and be the training partner, and that’s exactly what we’ve got to do. We’ll get right back to work.”
That said, Jones is enthused to face Ohio’s Miocic, who has continued to work as a firefighter throughout his UFC career. He also had a message for the former champion. “The next fight is going to be awesome. I say it respectfully to Stipe: I would take time off from being a firefighter right now. And I mean that with all due respect. My whole world is going to be focused on him. This is the biggest opportunity in my life, to beat the heavyweight GOAT. And I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. Absolutely everything I’ve got.”
Jones also gave a prediction for his first title defense. “I’m going to not only beat Stipe Miocic, I’m going to finish Stipe Miocic before the championship rounds.”
Watch the full UFC 285 post-fight press conference with new heavyweight champ Jon Jones above.
