The UFC returns to the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York on the 16th of November for UFC 309, but despite the event taking place in a historic venue and being headlined by two greats of the sport, there is one issue which a lot of MMA fans have with the main event. The issue which many fans have voiced their frustrations over heading into the event is that Stipe Miocic is the man challenging Jon Jones for the UFC heavyweight title, not the division’s interim champion, Tom Aspinall.
Even though Jones vs Miocic is a super fight and arguably one of the biggest fights in UFC heavyweight history, there is a feeling among fans that the fight should have happened several years ago when both men were in their prime. Instead, it is happening when Jones has competed just twice in the last four-and-a-half years and Miocic has not been seen inside the Octagon since being brutally KO’d by Francis Ngannou in early 2021.
Ahead of the huge but divisive UFC heavyweight title clash at Madison Square Garden, Tom Aspinall spoke with SafestCasinoSites and gave his thoughts and official fight prediction for Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic.
Tom Aspinall Predicts Jon Jones to Defeat Stipe Miocic at UFC 309
Tom Aspinall has predicted that Jon Jones will defeat Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309. However, despite Jones currently being a huge favourite, according to both the bookmakers and MMA fans, Aspinall is not completely writing off the former two-time heavyweight champion, Miocic.
Speaking to SafestCasinoSites, Aspinall said: “I would give the edge to Jon Jones because we’ve seen him more recently, and we’ve seen that he looked good. Realistically, it could go either way.”
Even though Jones has been out of the Octagon since early 2023, when he won the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, Tom Aspinall’s reasoning behind picking Jones over Miocic is that the one bout he has fought at heavyweight so far he looked superb, and dominant.
“Jon Jones, how does he really look at heavyweight? We’ve seen one fight with him against Ciryl Gane, which was nearly two years ago now. We know how that went — quick finish. He looked great in that fight, so it’s difficult to say. Usually you can kind of have a guess with recent form to see where both guys are at.”
Tom Aspinall Unsure How Stipe Miocic Will Look at UFC 309
Miocic has not competed in the UFC in three-and-a-half years
Even though Aspinall is not completely counting Miocic out of defeating Jones at UFC 309, the Brit has voiced concerns over the long hiatus he has been on since getting brutally knocked out by Ngannou at UFC 260.
“The last time we saw Stipe Miocic was nearly four years ago, and he got knocked out, and he’s now 42 or 43 years old, with a million miles on the clock. Granted, he’s literally the best heavyweight ever, but how does that look with what I’ve just said?”
Aspinall is right, even though Miocic is undoubtedly the greatest heavyweight fighter the UFC has ever seen, there are big concerns around him heading into UFC 309, as not only was the last time he fought an extremely long time ago, but he is now 42 years old and for a fighter that age, a lengthy hiatus can never be good.
The UFC 309 event, which has Jones vs Miocic as the main event, and also features Charles Oliveira against Michael Chandler, and Bo Nickal returning against Paul Craig, airs as a pay-per-view on ESPN in the US, and TNT Sports in the UK.