Jon Jones out of heavyweight title fight at UFC 295 due to torn pec
UFC 295 has seen a major shakeup as heavyweight champion Jon Jones is out of his title fight with Stipe Miocic, UFC president Dana White announced.
Jones tore a tendon in his pectoral and will require surgery, which will keep him out of action for eight months, according to White.
The bout between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira for the vacant light heavyweight title slides in to replace Jones-Miocic as the main event, while Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall will now square off for the interim heavyweight championship in the co-main event.
With Jones' injury, Miocic has also been removed from the card completely. The hope is for the UFC to rebook Jones versus Miocic at some point in 2024 once Jones has healed from his injury, reports ESPN's Marc Raimondi.
The fight was supposed to be the first heavyweight title defense for Jones after he secured the belt in his debut in the weight class by choking out Ciryl Gane just over two minutes into the first round of their UFC 285 fight in March. Miocic hasn't fought in the Octagon since losing the heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021.
UFC 295 is scheduled for Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.