Jon Jones ruled out of UFC 295 heavyweight title defence due to injury

American was scheduled to face Stipe Miocic in New York but has been ruled out for eight months

Jon Jones during UFC 247 in Houston, Texas. AFP

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is out of next month’s title defence against Stipe Miocic, the promotion’s CEO Dana White confirmed on Wednesday.

The American, considered by many the greatest UFC athlete of all-time, was scheduled to face former champion Miocic in the headline championship bout at UFC 295 on November 11 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

However, White announced on social media that Jones, 36, had torn a pectoral tendon off the bone during training, saying the heavyweight belt-holder needed surgery. White added that Jones would be out of competition for at least eight months.

Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall, the No 2- and No 4-ranked contenders at heavyweight, will fight for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295. The light heavyweight bout for the vacant title between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira has been promoted to the main event.

“Jon Jones was training last night, got injured, he was wrestling, and he tore the tendon that connects your pec to the bone, off the bone,” White said on social media. “[Out] eight months, going to need surgery. He’s out.”

Jones, a former light heavyweight champion, had returned to the UFC only in March following a three-year sabbatical. Moving up to heavyweight at UFC 285, he submitted Cyril Gane in little more than two minutes to win the vacant belt.

Jones currently rides an 18-fight winning streak – he won a record 14 titles fights at 205 lbs – with his professional record reading 27-1 and one no contest.

Miocic, meanwhile, is a former two-time heavyweight champion whom Jones refers to as the best heavyweight in UFC history. His last competitive outing came at UFC 260 in March 2021, when he lost the belt to Francis Ngannou.