- Jon Jones was scheduled to defend his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295
- Contenders Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich will instead fight for interim gold
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ road to recovery has begun.
On Tuesday, Jones posted a video about his Instagram story showing the bandage over his left breast after surgery.
Jones was scheduled to headline UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden on November 11. But after the injury on October 25, Jones’ first heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic was scrapped.
The co-main event – a light heavyweight title fight between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira – has been promoted to the new headliner.
In the heavyweight division, No. 4 Tom Aspinall will face No. 2 Sergei Pavlovich for the interim title.
Jon Jones was set to make his first heavyweight title defense at UFC 295 before suffering an injury
Jones shared a post-surgery video on his Instagram Story on Tuesday morning
The canceled meeting with Miocic would have been Jones’ sixteenth straight title fight. Just seventeen days before UFC 295, UFC president Dana White announced that Jones was injured and would be out for at least eight months.
“He tore the tendon that connects your chest to the bone from the bone,” White said in the announcement.
a video of the incident showed Jones shooting a double leg on his training partner. As he completed the takedown, Jones screamed in discomfort before sitting on his knees with his glove over his chest.
The next day, Jones posted a video on Instagram to address the situation. “Very sad situation, very upset,” Jones said after thanking those who checked in with him. ‘But I’ve been through a lot in my life and injuries are part of being an athlete.’
“I want to thank Stipe Miocic for the work he’s done,” Jones added. “I’m so sorry for Stipe and his team. Like I said, this is part of it.”
Jones defeated Ciryl Gane by submission in the first round of UFC 285 to win the heavyweight title
Jones became the youngest-ever UFC champion at the age of 23 when he won the light-heavyweight title against Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua in 2011.
After a close win over Dominick Reyes in 2020, Jones left the light heavyweight belt — which he had held on and off for nearly a decade — to move up to heavyweight.
Jones then called for a fight with Miocic following a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane in March as he claimed the heavyweight title after a three-year absence.
Although the fight with two-time heavyweight champion Miocic will not take place in November, Jones still appears interested in the matchup in the future.
“The goal is to have surgery and return to work as quickly as possible,” Jones said. “I think Stipe and I will be at a later date and that’s my plan.”