Jon Jones next fight: When is he fighting Stipe Miocic? [UPDATED]

Jon Jones might be fighting again in 2023, but when and against who?

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has officially transitioned into the heavyweight division. And while his debut was a bit lackluster due to his less-than-A-list opponent, he did impress with a first-round submission.

But that leaves fans wondering, what happens next for Jones?

The thought has always been that Jones would fight former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, but the negotiations for that fight are slowly going.

According to Jones in mid-March, it was Stipe that had stalled the negotiations.

“Yo @stipemiocic only you the UFC and I know the truth, you dodged me all of 2022 - July, September & December,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “Now I’m hearing rumors that we may not be fighting this July.”

“Bro it’s simple, either you believe in yourself or you don’t,” he wrote. “Either you want this challenge or you don’t. Stop wasting everyone’s time.”

But Miocic replied back to Jones with a poster promoting their fight and the caption "See you in July."

We already know Dana White is on board for the fight, as he commented about it after Jones defeated Ciryl Gane.

When is Jon Jones' next fight?

“Here’s the thing that makes this so awesome, you have the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time facing the greatest heavyweight of all time,” White said (H/T MMA Fighting). “It literally doesn’t get any better than that. These are the kinds of fights you dream about making.”

But things took an unexpected turn when White admitted that it was Jones who was stalling the negotiations.

"Jon Jones came out, made quick work, and poof – disappeared," White said at the UFC 287 press conference. "He is ready to fight – he wants Stipe, so we will get it figured out."

Jon Jones is targeting retirement fight at MSG

It looks as though the idea of Jones fighting at UFC 290 has been put to bed as, according to White, they are now targeting a fight at Madison Square Garden later this year.

“As far as I know everything is good and hopefully we have a fight with him and Stipe very soon,” White said at the UFC Kansas City post-fight presser. “That’s where we’d like to do it.”

And Jones is into the idea as well, "How cool would it be to spend my retirement fight dominating the greatest heavyweight of all time, in my home state at Madison Square Garden?"