Jon Jones defends his UFC Heavyweight Title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on November 16, as MMA insiders gave their predictions.
The fight is being billed as a clash, which will define the best heavyweight of this era. Jones will return from a pectoral muscle injury, which resulted in the original UFC 295 date being called off. He secured the UFC Heavyweight Title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 last year. A first-round submission win capped off an impressive return to the sport since he had been away for around three years. Tom Aspinall will face the winner of Jones-Miocic, but there is speculation that both could retire.
This has created the narrative that Jones is ducking Aspinall. Jones has talked up a fight with Alex Pereira instead. Miocic said he would decide on his future after this fight. He has won the heavyweight title twice and defended it on four occasions over this period. He has not had a UFC fight since getting knocked out by Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in 2021. But the 42-year-old knows he could cap off a remarkable career with one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. This is what fellow MMA insiders had to say about the fight.
Jones Vs. Miocic
“I think it’s difficult to pick a winner, really, because Stipe now is getting a little bit long in the tooth. I would say he’s got a lot of miles on the clock, and he hasn’t fought for like, two or three years now. And that’s going to be difficult, whereas Jon Jones, we know exactly where he’s at. He’s just had a great performance. But it’s heavyweight MMA, you can never say exactly what’s going to happen, obviously at the highest level. But I would say that Jon Jones has the edge,” Tom Aspinall
“Honestly, I think Jon Jones is going to finish him. I don’t think there’s a better heavyweight right now in the world than Jon Jones. Everything he does is just so athletic and he’s so gifted, and it’s just ruthless. Whenever he gets into that cage, he’s a different person. I think Stipe is a bit older now. He hasn’t fought in a couple of years. I think Jon Jones is going to be too fast, too strong, too quick for him,” Belal Muhammad
Further Predictions
“I mean, that’s GOAT vs. GOAT. Stipe is one of the best heavyweights period. Jon Jones, we all know who he is. I think Stipe, stylistically, is probably the hardest fight for Jones, in a way, you know, he could wrestle back into him defensively. Has good boxing hands. He can move his feet, you know. I just think you can’t bet against Jones,” Jorge Masvidal
“I’m gonna say Jon Jones. and if it’s possible to have my revenge after this fight…And yeah, I’m gonna say John Jones,” Cyril Gane
“Miocic is an amazing heavyweight. You know, he did some amazing things in his career. You know in Jon Jones, we don’t need, even need to talk about him. But in my mind Stipe is the type of guy with the skills to bring some danger to Jon Jones. So I’m very excited about that. We know that Jon Jones is the favorite to win the fight. But I see Miocic with a big chance of winning this,” Junior Dos Santos
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