A heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic reportedly isn't expected to happen in July, although it remains a possibility further down the line.

According to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Jones vs. Miocic "won't happen" at UFC 290 on July 8, and it is considered "much more likely" to occur in the fall.

Raimondi added that "all parties" want Jones vs. Miocic to take place on the heels of Jones beating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 last month to become UFC heavyweight champion for the first time.

While Jones is best known for his dominance within the light heavyweight division, he made the transition to heavyweight for his first fight in over three years at UFC 285.

The heavyweight title was vacated when Francis Ngannou failed to come to terms on a contract with UFC, and Jones decimated an established heavyweight in Gane via first-round submission.

Miocic has not fought since UFC 260 in March 2021, but he is widely viewed as one of the greatest heavyweights in UFC history by virtue of his two heavyweight title wins.

He is 20-4 with 15 wins by way of knockout and owns two wins over Daniel Cormier and one over Ngannou. Miocic avenged a loss to Cormier at UFC 226 with back-to-back wins against him at UFC 241 and UFC 252 before dropping the heavyweight title to Ngannou at UFC 260 in their second meeting.

At 6'4", Miocic has always been a tough matchup for nearly everyone he has faced, but Jones is perhaps better equipped to handle him than anyone.

In addition to being 6'4" in his own right, Jones has a track record that is perhaps only rivaled by the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Jones is 27-1 with one no contest in 29 career fights. His only loss was to Matt Hamill in 2009 via disqualification from illegal elbows, and the no contest was originally a win over Cormier that was reversed after Jones tested positive for a banned substance.

During his two reigns as UFC light heavyweight champion, Jones had 11 successful title defenses, which speaks to his ability to enjoy a long reign.

There are still plenty of questions to be answered regarding Jones' long-term viability as a heavyweight, and challenging him with an all-time great like Miocic would go a long way toward Jones potentially cementing himself as the face of the heavyweight division.

While a fall fight between Jones and Miocic could be in the cards, UFC 290 is currently lining up to be headlined by a UFC featherweight title bout between champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim champion Yair Rodríguez.