Jon Jones made a triumphant return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Octagon last night (Sat., Nov. 16, 2024) at UFC 309 in New York City, defending his Heavyweight title by stopping Stipe Miocic in the third round via spinning back kick 20 months after winning the belt (see it again here).
Among the millions of people tuning in to see the return of the one and only “Bones” was none other than Francis Ngannou, who offered up his own assessment of the headlining championship fight.
“Jones looked great out there tonight,” said the former UFC 265-pound champion on X. “Congrats Jonny boy I see you.”
Of course, much of the talk over the last few weeks was the MMA Heavyweight division seeing as how Ngannou made his successful Professional Fighters League (PFL) debut by obliterating Renan Ferreira in the very first round at “Battle of the Giants,” prompting some to dub “The Predator” as the best big man in the game.
Of course, the popular vote always goes to Jones seeing as how he fights in the best MMA promotion in the world, and his destruction of Miocic further solidified his spot as the best 265-pound fighter at the moment.
A fight between Ngannou and Jones never materialized inside the Octagon, and now that “The Predator” has jumped ship to PFL it’s something that will likely never happen. As far as what could realistically be next for “Bones,” we know he won’t be retiring just yet, though he wouldn’t commit to who he would face next.
Nevertheless, fight fans can rejoice knowing that we get to see “Bones” fight at least once more. Whether or not it’s a title unification fight against Tom Aspinall or a mega-fight against current Light Heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, remains to be seen.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 309: “Jones vs. Miocic” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.