Jon Jones refuses to shake Stipe Miocic's hand over alleged comment about his kids: "That was a direct attack to me"

The rivalry between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic appears to have experienced a paradigm shift. Both MMA legends had been largely cordial leading up to their match.

Nevertheless, 'Bones' has now accused Miocic of making negative insinuations about him and his family. Jones also refused a handshake from the former heavyweight champion.

During the UFC 309 pre-fight press conference on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, a reporter referenced a recent disagreement between the two combatants.

For context, on the UFC 309 Countdown episode, Stipe Miocic was shown responding to a previous call-out by Jon Jones and dared him to "bring it on, b**ch!" Taking to Instagram, Jones disapproved of the "disrespect" and suggested that Miocic would wish he hadn't said that.

Recounting the same, during the press conference, Jon Jones notably alleged that the full-time firefighter had made a negative remark about his relationship with his children:

"I feel like Stipe has this, you know, everyone likes first responders. And I actually respect men and women in the armed forces, and law enforcement, and things like that. So I made it a point to try to be very respectful to him."

He added:

"And there's been two scenarios now. First scenario, he said, 'My kids will never look at me like I'm an a**hole.' That was a direct attack to me, and my family, and my relationship with my kids. Second attack was him calling me a b**ch. So the respect is a little bit out the window. And we'll see that on Saturday."

When asked if he'd describe the matchup as personal to him now, 'Bones' said:

"It's very personal to me. Yes."

Stipe Miocic responded by indicating that he doesn't remember commenting about the children, adding that it wasn't a direct attack against Jones. Also, he explained that the "b**ch" remark was his retort to Jones threatening to beat him up in front of an arena full of people. The 42-year-old then seemed to lightheartedly apologize for defending himself.

Check out Jones' comments and Miocic's response below (6:07):

Moreover, during the ceremonial pre-fight press conference face-off, Jon Jones refused to shake Stipe Miocic's extended hand and said:

"Don't ever mention my kids again."

Miocic replied:

"I never mentioned your kids."

Watch their face-off and brief verbal exchange below:

---

Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic: Ex-champ views the fight as personal for 'Bones' and himself

Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is booked to defend his championship against former divisional kingpin Stipe Miocic in the headlining match of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

Speaking of the long-awaited matchup, their verbal battle at the pre-fight press conference witnessed Miocic further expound upon the personal element in his clash against Jones and other fights in general. Upon being questioned about Jones saying the fight's personal, and whether he too feels it's now personal, Miocic replied:

"I mean, I think every fight is personal no matter what. I think you're fighting another man, another octagon, just you against him. And it's always personal." [7:32-minute mark of the pre-fight press conference video]

Speculation has abounded that both fighters could retire after UFC 309. However, UFC head honcho Dana White doesn't see the fight's winner walking away before facing interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.