Jon Jones to defend title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309

Jon Jones will defend his UFC heavyweight championship against former titleholder Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309, which will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 16.

UFC president Dana White announced the details in an interview with Complex on Saturday.

“Jon Jones is going to fight [Stipe Miocic] in Madison Square Garden in November,” White said. “And then if he wins or Stipe wins, we see what happens next.”

The fight between the most decorated light heavyweight and heavyweight, respectively, was originally set for the UFC’s annual trip to New York in 2023. However, Jones suffered a torn pectoral that required surgery, forcing him out of the fight and into a long rehabilitation.

Now fully healed, Jones will compete for the first time in 20 months against Miocic, a former two-time champion who has been widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, with a record four heavyweight title defenses.

But Jones’ time off is nothing compared to that of Miocic, who has not fought since being stopped by Francis Ngannou in March 2021. Miocic, 42, has not won a fight since successfully defending his title against Daniel Cormier in August 2020. 

Nevertheless, Jones, 37, has been steadfast in his desire to face Miocic (20-4) despite Tom Aspinall being the current interim heavyweight champion.

With so much time away from the sport, there have been questions regarding Miocic’s future, regardless of the outcome. White said he believes Miocic will call it a career, win or lose.

“Do I think Stipe will retire? I do,” White said. “I do think he will, but you never know.”

Jones (27-1, 1 NC) won the heavyweight title after defeating Ciryl Gane by first-round submission in March 2023 in his heavyweight debut. Before winning the belt, he dominated the light heavyweight division, logging a record-setting 11 successful title defenses.

Jones is also heading toward the end of his fighting career. However, White said he believes Jones will accept a unification fight with Aspinall should he beat Miocic.

A fight between Jones and Aspinall is one of the biggest that can be made in the UFC. Aspinall is 8-1 in the UFC, with all eight of his wins coming by knockout or submission and no fight lasting longer than 6½ minutes. His only loss was when he injured his knee just seconds into his fight with Curtis Blaydes. The two met again in July with Aspinall needing only 60 seconds to stop Blaydes.

Aspinall has called out Jones for a fight, with Jones scoffing at the notion that he needs to face him. But White said he thinksJones will be ready for the challenge.

Said White: “I know for a fact that if Jon Jones wins this fight, and with all this talk that’s out there, there’s no way in hell he’s not fighting Aspinall.”