Stipe Miocic felt like he was kicked when mega fight with Jon Jones called off

Oct. 28—Stipe Miocic is not hiding his disappointment about his highly anticipated heavyweight battle with Jon Jones being postponed indefinitely.

Miocic and Jones were scheduled to battle for the belt at UFC 295 on Nov. 11 in Madison Square Garden, but the fight was called off because Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle tendon while training. Jones is currently the heavyweight champion.

"How did I feel when I woke up today? Like I got kicked in the (groin)," Miocic, a graduate of Eastlake North High School, told mmafighting.com. "In the morning, I woke up to my phone vibrating. It was dark, I had my son on top of me, trying to move and get my phone. I finally got my phone and had a text message from my manager saying my fight was off. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night."

Jones apologized to Miocic, according to ESPN.

"Obviously, a very sad situation, very upset," Jones said. "But I've been through a lot of things in life. Injuries is a part of being an athlete."

UFC president Dana White filled the UFC 295 card by adding a bout between Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall to contend for the interim heavyweight crown. White said it would have been disrespectful to Miocic to have him fight someone other than Jones.

"I don't know why I didn't get picked, which is fine," Miocic said in the mmafighting.com story. "I understand they have a direction they want to go. I'm OK with that. Every guy in the division is tough. I definitely want to fight the biggest fish, which is Jon Jones. It wasn't my choice, it was theirs.

"Listen, everything happens for a reason. The fight being canceled. It sucks. No question about it. Unfortunately, that's just the game we're in. It happens. Like I said, I hope he's OK. You want to be the best. You've got to beat the best. I want that belt back. It's my belt. It's going to happen."

Jones had surgery on Oct. 27 to repair his torn pectoral muscle. The recovery time is expected to be eight months.

The Miocic-Jones bout could finally happen in late 2024. Miocic, a two-time champion, will be 42 by then.