A year on from their originally scheduled showdown, UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will finally do battle inside the prestigious surroundings of Madison Square Garden.
Not many topics have remained at the surface this year quite like the heavyweight championship conversation, which boasts two titleholders in the form of Jones and Tom Aspinall.
Although the Brit captured interim gold courtesy of Jones vs. Miocic getting postponed in late 2023, both "Bones" and the UFC have long remained firm in dismissing calls for a unification fight.
And in spite of plenty of campaigning from Aspinall and many in the MMA community, Jones' first title defense is now officially set to come against the returning Miocic, who hasn't been in action since suffering a devastating knockout at the hands of Francis Ngannou over three years ago.
The promotion confirmed to ESPN that the two legends will give an MSG clash a second go, headlining the UFC 309 pay-per-view on November 16.
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Jones Set For First Defense 20 Months On From UFC Heavyweight Title Win
Jones (27-1, 1 NC), a former champ at 205 pounds, last entered the cage in March 2023. Over three years on from his final title defense in the lower weight class, the Rochester native debuted at heavyweight by submitting Ciryl Gane in one round to capture the then-vacant title.
His attempt to get his reign quickly underway with a defense eight months later didn't come to fruition after a torn pectoral tendon forced him out of the MSG-held UFC 295 last November.
That injury also significantly delayed the comeback of Miocic (20-4), whose lengthy layoff has been extended by a year. The Ohio native's previous outing came inside the Apex, where his second reign on the heavyweight throne came to a thunderous halt courtesy of Ngannou. He'd previously defeated Daniel Cormier in back-to-back fights to edge their trilogy.
With this addition, the current fights expected to take place at UFC 309 are as follows:
- Jon Jones (C) vs. Stipe Miocic (heavyweight championship main event)
- Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler (lightweight co-main event)
- Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov (light heavyweight)
- Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders (middleweight)
- Viviane Araújo vs. Karine Silva (women’s flyweight)
- Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee (bantamweight)
- Karine Silva vs. Viviane Araújo (women’s flyweight)
- Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura (women’s flyweight)
