It’s fight week in the City. UFC returns for its annual trip to Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night with one of the biggest fights of the year atop the marquee. Heavyweight champion Jon Jones will take on former titleholder Stipe Miocic in an epic clash of the two men considered the best heavyweight and light heavyweight champions in the promotion’s history. Plus, an enticing rematch sits in the co-main event slot.
Jones is considered by many to be the sport’s greatest fighter of all time. His record in the light heavyweight division speaks for itself with title wins over some of the top fighters of the early era of UFC. However, long periods of inactivity continue to haunt him in the public eye as Jones has just one fight in the last three years. His win over Ciryl Gane to claim the vacant heavyweight crown was quick and decisive, but it still left fans wanting more. Now, he gets that chance when he takes on Miocic, who holds the record for most title defenses and wins in title fights in heavyweight history. Miocic, 42, has also been incredibly inactive in the last four years with just one fight since 2020.
It has been an odd week for many following the sport as most attention has shifted to a potential Jones vs. Tom Aspinall fight. While Jones was inactive, Aspinall stepped up and earned the interim heavyweight crown and has done everything he can to convince Jones to take a fight with him. Instead, Jones has given a litany of excuses for why that won’t happen, ranging from Jones’ claim that a win over Aspinall does nothing for his legacy to wanting to drop the belt altogether to pursue super fights with Alex Pereira and Derrick Lewis to straight up not liking Aspinall and how he has gone about his business. UFC CEO Dana White refuses to give any credence to the “ducking” accusations being levied at Jones.
“For anybody to say that he is ducking anybody, Jon Jones is like 37, 38 years old. He has fought everybody. He has fought the best in the world in their prime and been doing it since he was 23 years old. He doesn’t duck anybody,” White said. “That is classic Jon Jones right there.”
Elsewhere on the card, a lightweight rematch between top contenders is set when former champion Charles Oliveira takes on former Bellator king Michael Chandler. The two previously met in 2021 for the vacant strap at 155 pounds with Oliveira overcoming an early barrage from Chandler to score a second-round knockout for the championship. It capped off an incredible career resurgence for the Brazilian as it was his ninth straight win. Oliveira went on to defend the title twice before finally meeting his match in current titleholder Islam Makhachev in October 2022. Chandler, meanwhile, hasn’t seen the Octagon much since 2022 as he waited for Conor McGregor to join him. After spurts of expecting the fight to materialize, including for International Fight Week this year, Chandler finally moved on in an effort to stay active.
Below is the complete fight card for UFC 309 along with the latest odds. Check back all week long for the latest news, features and other content around this massive event.
UFC 309 fight card, odds
- Jon Jones (c) -625 vs. Stipe Miocic +450, heavyweight title
- Charles Oliveira -265 vs. Michael Chandler +215, lightweights
- Bo Nickal -1200 vs. Paul Craig +750, middleweights
- Karine Silva -265 vs. Viviane Araujo +215, women’s flyweights
- Mauricio Ruffy -900 vs. James Llontop +625, lightweights
- Marcus McGhee -130 vs. Jonathan Martinez +110, bantamweights
- Damon Jackson -165 vs. Jim Miller +140, lightweights
- David Onama vs. Roberto Romero, lightweights
- Marcin Tybura def. Jhonata Diniz via second-round TKO (doctor stoppage)
- Raminz Brahimaj def. Mickey Gall via first-round knockout (punches)
- Oban Elliott def. Bassil Hafez via third-round knockout (punches)
- Eduarda Moura def. Veronica Hardy via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC 309 info
- Date: Nov. 16
- Location: Madison Square Garden — New York City
- Start time: 10 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: ESPN+ PPV
UFC 309 countdown
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