“Is he doing martial arts against trees” - Dominick Cruz rips into Stipe Miocic's lack of visible preparation for Jon Jones fight

Dominick Cruz has weighed in on the upcoming Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight in November.

The announcement of the highly-anticipated heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 has drawn attention and speculation within the MMA community. While fans eagerly anticipate the clash between these two formidable fighters, former UFC champion Dominick Cruz has raised questions about Miocic's visible preparation for the upcoming fight.

During a post-fight show on ESPN following UFC 290, Cruz openly questioned the training regimen of the former heavyweight champion.

Miocic, who last fought in March 2021 and suffered a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou, has been relatively inactive since then.

Expressing his curiosity, Cruz wondered about the lack of visible training videos or updates from Miocic:

“Am I the only one who doesn’t know how much Stipe’s been training?... Have we been seeing videos of him training a lot? Where’s he been? Is he doing martial arts against trees? Because he’s facing a giant, giant man that can fight and it’s not a fire. I’m just wondering. You’re not fighting a fire, you’re fighting Jon Jones. Have you been fighting humans in the woods? I’m just trying to understand what you’re doing to prepare."

He specifically highlighted Miocic's commitment to his firefighting duties and pondered whether it would impact his preparation for a formidable opponent like Jones:

“He was training a lot consistently and fighting a lot consistently. What has he been doing now? Fighting fires, right? I’m just curious.”

Check out Dominick Cruz's comments below:

While Miocic has remained confident in his abilities and expressed his desire to recapture the heavyweight gold, Cruz's comments have ignited a discussion about the extent of his training and readiness for the challenge ahead.

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Deiveson Figueiredo set for UFC bantamweight debut against Dominick Cruz in September

Deiveson Figueiredo, the former UFC flyweight champion, is gearing up for his bantamweight debut as he has verbally agreed to face Dominick Cruz.

In an interview with Portuguese outlet Quinto Quarto, Figueiredo expressed his excitement about the potential fight, stating that he is training and awaiting the contract to be finalized:

“The hammer looks like it's already been beaten. Just need the contract to arrive. I'm training. I hope it works out so we can make it happen." [Translation: Google]

The Brazilian fighter also provided an update on his recovery from an eye injury sustained in his last flyweight title fight against Brandon Moreno at UFC 283 in January. Figueiredo mentioned that he is now 95% recovered and eager to test himself in the bantamweight division:

“I'm already 95% better. Even with a fight already almost scheduled. My manager is talking. It will now be for September. Let's see if we close now. I want to test myself at 61.2 kg. Dominick Cruz is a former champion, too good guy. Talented from the start. Fighting him will be a great satisfaction" [Translation: Google]