UFC 309 Start Time, Full Fight Card Details

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is touching down in New York City later TONIGHT (Sat., Nov. 16, 2024) for UFC 309: “Jones vs. Miocic,” one if its most anticipated pay-per-view (PPV) events of the year (see full card). Headlining the event is a legacy-defining Heavyweight title fight as division kingpin, Jon Jones, makes his highly-anticipated return to face off against former champion, Stipe Miocic. In UFC 309’s PPV co-main event, former Lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira, will do battle against Michael Chandler in a rematch three years in the making (Sorry, Conor).

What’s Hot:

It has been more than 1.5 years since we last saw Jones compete inside the Octagon, defeating Ciryl Gane in just 124 seconds at UFC 285 to become the promotion’s new 265-pound champion in his first fight in the division (replay here). Prior to that, “Bones” was on the sidelines for nearly three years, so you can’t blame fight fans for salivating over the chance to see the man (ESPECIALLY Dana White) many have dubbed as the greatest mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter ever compete again. Especially since it could be the last time he ever does. Indeed, the mystery surrounding Jones’ future beyond UFC 309 has been a hot topic of conversation. Tom Aspinall has been pining for his chance at Jones should he prove victorious, but “Bones” has recently hinted that a fight against current Light Heavyweight kingpin, Alex Pereira — should he choose to not retire after UFC 309 — is more intriguing. Plus, he doesn’t care for how Aspinall — or his fans — has been handling himself. But, we are putting the cart before the horse because Jones has business to take care of inside Madison Square Garden against a former champion who is hungry to get his belt back.

While Jones has been idle for some time, Miocic has been out even longer, as the former champion hasn’t competed since getting knocked out by Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021 (see it again here). That’s a long time to sit on the sidelines, but as Jones proved against Gane, it is possible to be out for three years and return to action and dominate. But Miocic trying to do the same as “Bones” will be a tall order because he is facing a man who has never tasted true defeat. Furthermore, there really isn’t an area in which Miocic can say he’s better in than Jones. While he does not have the power that “The Predator” has, Jones is very skilled when it comes to the striking department. If it turns into a jiu-jitsu match, Jones has proven he can submit the best of them. When it comes to wrestling, Jones has him covered there, too. In short, it seems the odds are very much stacked against Miocic, but that all goes out the window once the cage door slams shut. All the stats, all the records, all the title defenses that Jones has do not mean anything to Miocic because all it takes is for him to capitalize on one mistake, one slip up on Jones’ behalf. But the 265-pound champion has been perfect throughout his career, and he has made sure not to make those mistakes. This will be a great chess match, though I fully expect Jones to have his way here.

What’s Not:

The promotion has made it a habit to not go all out and stack and even that Jones or Conor McGregor headline since they feel fans will fork over the money to pay for it anyway. But I can’t fathom why the the UFC higher-ups feel a fight between Mauricio Ruffy and James Llontop are worthy of opening up such a major PPV event. I am not trying to disrespect either of those men, but I would figure two more well-known fighters would be given that task. Ruffy only has one UFC fight under his belt, making good on his UFC debut by defeating Jamie Mullarkey via first-round knockout at UFC 301. As for Llontop, he is on a two-fight losing streak and ha yet to pick u a victory inside the Octagon. The promotion is trying to hype up Ruffy as a “young Conor McGregor,” but let’s slow our roll here.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

Carlos Prates was originally set to face Randy Brown on this card before he was yanked from the event to face Neil Magny in last weekend’s (Sat., Nov. 9, 2024) “Fight Night” event in which he secured another first round stoppage win (see it again here). A 155-pound bout between Mauricio Ruffy vs. Charlie Campbell was scheduled for this event, but Campbell bowed out and was replaced by James Llontop.

Injuries:

No injuries were reported for this event!

New Blood:

“Medical issues” forced Lucas Almeida to bow out of his fight against David Onama. As a result, promotional newcomer Roberto Romero agreed to step in and make his debut on short notice. Romero usually fights at Featherweight, but this bout will take place at 155 pounds. The 24-year-old is a Combate Global veteran, racking up a 6-1-1 record with the promotion before the Mexican-born fighter got the call up to the big show.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

Opening up the undercard is a women’s flyweight fight between Veronica Hardy and Eduarda Moura. Hardy is currently riding a three-fight win streak and is making great strides toward a Top 15 ranking. It’s a great turnaround for Hardy, who started off her UFC run with three straight losses. As for Mora, she is hungry to get back into the win column after suffering the first loss of her pro career at the hands of Denis Gomes via split-decision. Prior to that, she was undefeated (10-0).

In Heavyweight action, Jhonata Diniz will face off against Marcin Tybura. Diniz as in line to face Derrick Lewis just last week at UFC Edmonton, but the fight was canceled after “Black Beast” bowed out due to a medical condition. Thankfully, UFC matchmakers were able to book Diniz — who is undefeated (8-0) — right away. As for Tybura, he is coming off a first round submission defeat at the hands of Serghei Spivac (recap here).

UFC’s iron man, Jim Miller, will return after having his two-fight win streak snapped at the hands of King Green in what was a one-sided beatdown at UFC 300 (recap here). Miller is a respectable 5-2 in his last seven fights, and will attempt to get back on track when he takes on Damon Jackson, who has really struggled as of late, going just 1-3 in his last four outings inside the Octagon.

Chris Weidman was once sitting on top of the UFC world following back-to-back wins over Anderson Silva, and subsequent wins over Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort. Those days seem so long ago because since then, “All American” has taken a drastic fall, losing seven of his last 10 fights. He snapped his two-fight skid by defeating Bruno Silva earlier this year, and he now looks to ride that momentum and earn his first back-to-back wins in almost a decade when he battles hard-hitting Eryk Anders. “Ya Boi” is 2-3 in his last five fights and is coming off a big win Jamie Pickett earlier this year. Anders packs tremendous power in his punches, so if Weidman doesn’t keep his head on a swivel he could be staring up at the lights in defeat.

In Bantamweight action, Jonathan Martinez (No. 13) will face off against Marcus McGhee. Martinez saw his six UFC-fight win streak go up in smoke after he was defeated by resurgent Jose Aldo at UFC 301. Now, he will look to turn in around with a win over McGhee, who is on a five-fight win streak, 3-0 inside the Octagon. Going from fighting Aldo to McGhee is rather odd, but Martinez still needs a big win here.

In men’s Welterweight action, Bassil Hafez will do battle against Oban Elliott, who is coming in on a seven-fight win streak, including going two-for-two inside the Octagon. Hafez, meanwhile, came up short in his UFC debut against top contender Jack Della Maddalena, losing via split-decision. He did, however, bounce back nicely with a unanimous decision win over Mickey Gall.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Speaking of Gall, he will be taking Ramiz Brahimaj in a 170-pound affair. Gall has lost three straight, so he is in desperate need of a win here because he is a very unimpressive 3-6 since defeating Sage Northcutt way back in 2016. Should he lose his fourth straight fight, it could be the end of the UFC road for him. As for Brahimaj, he is just 2-3 inside the Octagon and is coming off a loss to Themba Gorimbo, so he could use a win himself if he wants to hang on to his sport on the bloated roster.

Interest Level: 8.5/10

In the co-main event of the evening Chandler will attempt to get revenge on Oliveira, the man who squashed his UFC championship dreams back at UFC 262 three years ago (see it here). It seemed as if “Iron” had a win wrapped up after dropping “Do Bronx” early in the fight, but the Brazilian bomber bounced back to secure a technical knockout win. Since then, Chandler has gone just 1-2 inside the Octagon and has wasted valuable fighting time waiting around for a fight against Conor McGregor that will likely never happen. Chandler has been idle since losing to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 in Nov. 2022, and a stint on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) opposite “Notorious” proved to be all for nothing. Tired of waiting around, Chandler agreed to a rematch against Oliveira in hopes of kicking off his ambitious run he has mapped out for 2025.

As for Oliveira, he successfully defended his belt one time against Dustin Poirier before he was stripped of the belt ahead of his title fight against Justin Gaethje for missing weight. He ended up winning the fight via submission, setting him for a title fight for the vacant strap against Islam Makhachev, who defeated “Do Bronx” via arm-triangle at UFC 280. Oliveira bounced back with a technical knockout win over Beneil Dariush, only to lose to Arman Tsarukyan in his follow-up contest. Now, he hopes to get another win over Chandler to get right back into the championship picture.

Undefeated (6-0, 3-0) hyped prospect, Bo Nickal, returns for his latest test inside the eight-sided cage against Paul Craig. In his first three fights under the UFC banner, Nickal has dominated the opposition, securing two submissions and one technical knockouit victory. Craig is a nice test for Nickal, but let’s keep it real, “Bearjew” does not have the wrestling chops to hang with someone with the pedigree of Nickal. This could be another dominant outing for the former NCAA D-1 wrestling champion, as long as he avoids Craig’s big bombs early.

In women’s flyweight action, Viviane Araujo will face Karine Silva. Araujo has been struggling very much as of late, going 2-4 in her last six fights. As for Silva, she is on a nine fight win streak and is perfect (4-0) under UFC’s banner. Araujo is ranked No. 9, while Silva is creeping toward a Top 10 spot at No. 11. Should she defeat Araujo she will take her spot and put her in danger of getting cut, in the process. For Araujo, slowing Silva’s momentum will allow her to get a new lease on her combat life.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC 309 Fight Card:

UFC 309 Main Event On ESPN+ PPV:

265 lbs.: UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

UFC 309 Main Card On ESPN+ PPV (10 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler 2
185 lbs.: Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig
125 lbs.: Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva
165 lbs.: Mauricio Ruffy vs. James Llontop (now catchweight)

UFC 309 Prelims Card On ESPNN/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):

135 lbs.: Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
185 lbs.: Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders
155 lbs.: Jim Miller vs. Damon Jackson
155 lbs.: David Onama vs. Roberto Romero (not Lucas Almeida)

UFC 309 Prelims Card On ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET):

265 lbs.: Marcyn Tybura vs. Jhonata Diniz
170 lbs.: Mickey Gall vs. Ramiz Brahimaj
170 lbs.: Bassil Hafez vs. Oban Elliott
125 lbs.: Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 309 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ ”Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

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.