UFC 309 is headlined by a blockbuster bout.
On 16 November, live from Madison Square Garden in New York City, Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will throw down in a heavyweight title bout with career-defining ramifications.
The fight was initially booked for UFC 295 in November 2023, but fell apart when Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle in training.
Tom Aspinall claimed the interim heavyweight belt in Jones’ absence, but now ‘Bones’ makes his eagerly-anticipated return for a shot at MMA immortality.
Jones’ Hall of Fame-worthy career has earned him millions of fans, none bigger than Conor McGregor.
The two-weight world champions share a mutual admiration, with Jones heaping praise on ‘The Notorious’ for ‘fast forwarding the game ten years’.
The Irish superstar is yet to publicly share his opinion on the Miocic fight, but his thoughts ahead of Jones’ fight with Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 last year give a strong indication as to who he’s rocking with in the penultimate PPV event of 2024.
“I’d like to see Jones fulfil his [heavyweight] destiny,” McGregor said.
‘Mystic Mac’ ultimately got his wish as Jones mauled Gane and submitted him in the first round to claim the vacant heavyweight strap.
However, Jones’ next challenge is expected to be a much sterner test as he returns to the Octagon to face a man who many deem to be the heavyweight GOAT.
Miocic, now 42, is a two-time UFC heavyweight champion who, along with Randy Couture, holds the record for most wins in heavyweight title fights (six).
The Ohio native is also the division’s all-time leader in consecutive and overall title defenses (three and four, respectively), and performance bonuses (nine).
The former NCAA Division I wrestler made his UFC debut in October 2011 at UFC 136. He claimed heavyweight gold for the first time when he knocked out Fabricio Werdum five years later.
Miocic defended the belt in his next three fights, which included a unanimous-decision victory over Franncis Ngannou in January 2018, before losing it to UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier.
Miocic regained his heavyweight crown following a trilogy of bouts with DC before meeting Ngannou again.
Stipe was knocked out in devastating fashion by ‘The Predator’ in the first round of their rematch at UFC 260 in 2021.
That was Miocic’s last MMA fight and he is currently the No. 8 ranked heavyweight on the planet.
McGregor, meanwhile, has had a similar amount of time away from the cage after breaking his leg during a defeat to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
The 36-year-old was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler in a 170lb bout at UFC 303 on June 29 this year following their stint as coaches on ‘The Ultimate Fighter 31’.
However, McGregor’s return to the sport was postponed after suffering another injury setback.
In the meantime, Chandler agreed to a rematch with Charles Oliveira in a five-round co-main event at UFC 309 while McGregor’s UFC return remains up in the air.
