Jon Jones will finally make his return to the Octagon to defend his UFC heavyweight title against former champion Stipe Miocic at the upcoming UFC 309 pay-per-view (PPV) card on Nov. 16 from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
UFC CEO, Dana White, revealed the news in a recent interview with Complex Sports (shown below). The promotion also unveiled a UFC 309 promo during the broadcast for Noche UFC on Saturday night.
Dana White says that Jon Jones will be fighting Stipe Miocic in Madison Square Garden at #UFC309 on November 16th
@ComplexSports #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/py6kOCUupw
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 14, 2024
Jones vs Miocic from Madison Square Garden, NY! Tickets on sale Friday, October 25th #UFC309 pic.twitter.com/F77mVSN1nj
— danawhite (@danawhite) September 15, 2024
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 long-awaited heavyweight legacy fight between Jones and Miocic was originally expected to take place at UFC 295 in November of last year. This came after Jones defeated Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 earlier in 2023 after a three-year hiatus. Unfortunately, “Bones” ended up tearing his pectoral muscle and was pulled from his fight against Miocic. The promotion has been waiting to reschedule it ever since.
Making things more interesting along the way has been the rise of interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. The surging English star has looked downright unstoppable and is coming off three-straight, first-round knockout victories, including a title fight win over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 and his first defense of the interim strap against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.
He’ll make a good backup.
Despite Aspinall’s wild success and plea for UFC to feed him Jones, the promotion is still rolling with Miocic. It’s a matchup that both Jones and Miocic have been waiting for and one that will now headline one of the last PPV cards of 2024.
Adding to UFC 309’s growing card will be a lightweight rematch between fan-favorite Michael Chandler and former UFC champion Charles Oliveira. Chandler has waited close to two years to get his long-awaited fight against Conor McGregor, but on Friday he decided to turn the page and get back into the Octagon.
Stick with Mania for more UFC 309 fight card news.