Jon Jones Eyes Stipe Miocic Fight After Ciryl Gane Bout at UFC 285: 'I'd Be Honored'

Ahead of his first fight in three years, Jon Jones is already thinking about who he might take on after squaring off with Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 on March 4.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, Jones said he would like to "solidify my legacy" by taking on former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.

"People consider him the greatest heavyweight of all time," Jones said of Miocic. "The opportunity to compete against such a man, I'd be honored."

UFC 285 will mark Jones' first fight in the heavyweight division. The 32-year-old Gane should present a formidable challenge. He is a former interim heavyweight champion whose only career loss was by unanimous decision against Francis Ngannou in January 2022.

Gane became the first person to go the distance with Ngannou since Derrick Lewis in July 2018.

Miocic hasn't fought since losing the heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021, prompting speculation about his future in mixed martial arts.

MMA reporter Ariel Helwani said (starts at 28:10 mark) on his podcast The MMA Hour in November that once negotiations broke down for a bout between Miocic and Jones, he "wouldn't be surprised" if that marked the end of Miocic's career.

Miocic told Helwani in January he was pushing to fight Jones, but UFC "went a different direction" with Gane.

After UFC officially announced the Jones-Gane bout for UFC 285, Miocic tweeted he wanted to take on the winner in July:

Jones is arguably the most dominant pound-for-pound fighter in UFC history after going 26-1 with one no-contest as a light heavyweight. His only loss was a disqualification for illegal elbows in a fight he was dominating against Matt Hamill in 2009.

Miocic has a 20-4 record in 24 career mixed martial arts fights. He won the UFC heavyweight title twice and holds the company record for most successful heavyweight title defenses (three).

Before Jones can think about fighting Miocic, he will have to take care of business against Gane on March 4.