Jamie Griffith’s tips for Saturday night’s huge heavyweight clash at Madison Square Garden include a win for the champion inside the distance.
Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic collide at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden this weekend in the main event of UFC 309.
The clash will see Jones, dubbed by many as the greatest fighter of all time, face off against the man considered the best heavyweight ever, and there are few who could argue against those tags.
The co-main event sees a highly anticipated rematch between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler, while there are potential breakout moments for rising stars Bo Nickal and Mauricio Ruffy.
Selections
Jon Jones to win
2/11
Under 3.5 rounds
2/5
Jon Jones to win by KO, TKO or disqualification
13/10
Back Bones to defend his title
Jones (27-1, 1 NC) is a big favourite to keep hold of his Heavyweight title in Yew York.
The American holds a number of UFC records as a Light Heavyweight, notably becoming the company’s youngest ever champion aged just 23.
Now 37 years old, Jones is defending his Heavyweight title for the first time after winning the vacant belt by beating Ciryl Gane in 2023.
It’s not just his list of accolades that are impressive as Jones has an extremely high IQ and, as a student of the game, can often be found meticulously watching hours of tape on his opponents.
Alongside the mental is the physical and he does not fall short in that category, as he is a fantastic athlete with elite kickboxing and grappling skills.
Two time Heavyweight champion Miocic (20-4) is no slouch but, having been inactive for over 40 months and now at 42 years of age, it is difficult to make a case for him beating Jones at this stage of his career.
Jones just as dangerous at Heavyweight
In the back end of his run as Light Heavyweight champion Jones would often see out wins on the scorecards, with seven out of his last nine victories at 205 lbs being decided by the judges.
The American admitted there was less fear and motivation in some fights, however, in his Heavyweight debut against the hard hitting Gane, he once again showed his more ruthless side, submitting the Frenchman in the first round to clinch the vacant title.
Expect that to continue when coming up against Miocic, whose three title defences is the most anybody has achieved in the division of giants.
The two-time champion has many big names on his resume, winning his trilogy with Daniel Cormier 2-1, as well as defeating Fabrício Werdum, Alistair Overeem and Francis Ngannou.
However, Miocic was last seen being brutally knocked out by Ngannou in their 2021 rematch.
While Jones does not possess the same one punch power as Ngannou, he will look to break his opponent down in the first half of the fight.
It is also worth noting that eight of Bones’ 11 UFC finishes have come in under 3.5 rounds.
Will 12-6 elbows play a part?
The only defeat in Jones’ career was a controversial disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in 2009 when he used an illegal downward elbow in the first round of the contest.
However, a recent change to the unified rules means these 12-6 elbows are now allowed.
Jones has discussed implementing the elbows in his game ahead of this fight, which could make for some devastating ground and pound should he be able to take Stipe down.
Miocic has never been submitted in his 24-fight career but he was knocked out in his last bout with Ngannou and has also been TKO’d by Daniel Cormier and Stefan Struve.
A KO or TKO feels like Jones’ best chance of ending this within the distance and it’s not unthinkable for Jones to have a full circle moment and try to finish Miocic with 12-6 elbows.
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