Jon Jones will face Stipe Miocic for the UFC
heavyweight title at
#UFC309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden, UFC announced.
pic.twitter.com/KzdtNoOXIx— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
September 14, 2024
The heavyweight championship clash between Jon Jones and
Stipe
Miocic is finally official. UFC CEO Dana White announced the
title bout to Complex Sports on Saturday evening. UFC 309
takes place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden and will also see
Charles
Oliveira square off against Michael
Chandler in a five-round, co-main event tilt.
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It’s official:@danawhite
tells us @JonnyBones
will return to the octagon at Madison Square Garden vs. @stipemiocic
in November 😳 pic.twitter.com/CwaI14i2bc— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports)
September 14, 2024
A long-reigning light heavyweight champion, Jones returned to
action following a three-year hiatus at UFC 285, where he claimed
the vacant heavyweight crown with a first-round submission of
Ciryl
Gane in March 2023. “Bones” was then booked against Miocic at
UFC 295 last November but was forced to pull out of the fight after
suffering a torn pectoral in training.
In the meantime, Tom
Aspinall captured the interim heavyweight belt with a
first-round stoppage of Sergei
Pavlovich at UFC 295 and defended the strap with an opening
round KO of Curtis
Blaydes this past July. Aspinall has lobbied hard for a title
unification bout, but Jones has insisted on a legacy fight against
Miocic, and the promotion has been on board with that request.
Jones has also hinted that he will retire after the Miocic
fight.
Miocic, who owns the UFC record for most consecutive heavyweight
title defenses, hasn’t set foot inside the Octagon since March
2021, when he relinquished the belt to Francis
Ngannou in a second-round KO defeat at UFC 260.