Stipe Miocic was disappointed he wasn’t asked to fight for the interim heavyweight title.
Miocic said after his KO loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 to lose his heavyweight title, he would take the rest of the year off. With that, the promotion decided to book Ciryl Gane vs. Derrick Lewis for the interim title, which Miocic is upset he wasn’t asked to fight either one of them.
“I would have loved to have been asked,” Miocic said about the interim title fight snub when appearing on The MMA Hour. “I feel like I understand what the UFC’s doing, it’s a business, but at the same time I think that I deserved a trilogy fight. I wasn’t even asked for the interim fight. Who knows if I would have taken it but just it would have been nice to be asked. Just toes in the water. I don’t know [if I would have taken it]. We don’t know. It’s over with.”
Although he didn’t get the chance to fight for the interim belt, Miocic has made it clear he wants his next fight to be the trilogy with Francis Ngannou. They are 1-1 so it does make some sense for them to run it back.
“Listen, I’m used to it,” Miocic said. “It is what it is. It’s business. I get it but at the same time, I feel like I was deserving of a trilogy fight. Everyone else has gotten one but me… “I’ll fight anyone like I always say [but] I really want that trilogy fight. That [title] was mine. I want it back. Definitely get a trilogy [in 2022]. Get my shot back at the title. Get my belt back. Back to normal. Everything’s back to normal.”
If Stipe Miocic doesn’t get the trilogy with Ngannou, one other fight he would take is Jon Jones. Dana White showed interest in the fight earlier this year, and the former champ says the scrap does interest him.
“I’m down,” Miocic said about fighting Jones. “I don’t think he wanted it. I don’t know the whole story but I’m down. Then he wants a title shot. I know he’s done well, he’s probably one of the greatest of all time but you’ve still got to wait your order. That’s like me going to light heavyweight and being like I want a shot.”
For right now, Stipe Miocic is still on the sidelines and will meet with the UFC brass in December. Once that happens, his next fight will likely be revealed.
Who would you like to see Stipe Miocic fight next?