The “Countdown” has begun for UFC 309.
Saturday night (Nov. 16) marks the return of UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who battles former 265-pound kingpin Stipe Miocic in the five-round championship main event. Elsewhere on the card, Michael Chandler returns in hopes of avenging his previous loss to Charles Oliveira in the lightweight pay-per-view (PPV) co-headliner, part of the “Big Apple” action inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Watch “Countdown to UFC 309” in the embedded video above.
“I feel that it’s unfortunate that we live in a world where one bad performance discredits a person so much,” Jones told Kevin Iole. “Stipe has beat everyone. I mean, Junior dos Santos, Francis Ngannou, Daniel Cormier – some of the biggest names, you know? Many champions he’s defeated. I feel like I’m wise enough to know that one bad night doesn’t make a man or break a man. Stipe is every bit of worthy as my opponent.
“It’s not easy winning championships back-to-back, especially in the heavyweight division. What he’s done is truly special, and I just want to give the man his opportunity. I know fighting me, for a lot of athletes, is a really big deal. If anyone deserves to be in there with me, it’s Stipe Miocic.”
We’ll find out this weekend in “The Empire State.”
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 at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the UFC 309 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
For the complete UFC 309 fight card and PPV lineup click here.