Jon Jones will face Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 on November 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Their fight is considered one of the biggest MMA fights of the year and one of the biggest heavyweight MMA fights in a while.
Jones is a longtime former UFC light heavyweight champion and the most famous light heavyweight fighter in the history of the sport. He is now the UFC heavyweight champion after taking a three-year break from training to stop Ciryl Ganes through first-round submissions at UFC 285 in March.
Miocic, meanwhile, is the most successful heavyweight fighter in UFC history. He has four UFC heavyweight title defenses across two dynasties, the most ever in the tournament. He also defeated the likes of Ngannou, Daniel Cormier (twice) and other former champions such as Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum.
Jones vs. Miocic has long been a dream match and fans will finally get to see it later this year. Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Ian Parker look at the match, its importance, how it was made and how it could go down in the Octagon in November.
What has Stipe done since fighting Ngannou? Will he be ready?
1:39
Rogan: Stipe Miocic claims to be the heavyweight GOAT
Joe Rogan and Dominick Cruz discuss the historic significance of Stipe Miocic’s win over Daniel Cormier in a heavyweight title fight at UFC 252.
Raimondi: Work as a firefighter and paramedic in the Cleveland area. No, seriously. Miocic gets promoted last year’s full-time firefighter and got a job at a new station. That and spending time with his young family have been Miocic’s focus since he handed the title to Ngannou in March 2021. However, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t trained yet. ready to fight. There was a point last year when the UFC wanted Miocic back, but he had to ask for more time for a full training camp and the UFC went in a different direction. He has obligations to the fire department and Miocic takes them very seriously. He won’t be able to play for a while.
Around this time last year, discussions about the possibility of Jones going up against Miocic began for the first time. Miocic should have played last fall or winter. However, that was at a time when the UFC was still trying to negotiate with Ngannou, the then UFC heavyweight champion. And the opponent the UFC wants for Ngannou is Jones. So Miocic was then really nothing more than a backup. We all know what happens next. Ngannou left the promotion and the UFC brought Jones back to fight Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title.
Back then, the UFC could have placed Miocic against Jones, but they chose Gane with the caveat that Miocic would win. UFC President Dana White said several times during UFC 285 fight week when Jones and Gane met — Miocic was next. And White lived to the end of his deal, though the initial hope was to make the fight this past weekend in Las Vegas for International Fight Week. Despite the higher taxes on boxers in New York, Madison Square Garden isn’t a bad consolation.
Is this the fight to make?
Okamoto: Yes, but with some asterisks. It’s the fight to be the best fight of all time (Jones) against the greatest heavyweight of all time (Miocic). That kind of narrative doesn’t come up often, so when it does, it can’t be ignored.
The UFC would be insane to book any other fight for Jones other than this one. However, I would like to see Jones challenged as much as possible. Looks like he doesn’t have many battles left, so I want what he has left to be of the highest quality. And I don’t know if Miocic is, with all due respect, the biggest competitive challenge facing Jones at heavyweight right now. When this fight happens, he will be 41 years old, after 2 and a half years out of work. I believe Miocic has the skill set and experience to present a challenge to Jones, but at the same time, I’d love to see Jones fight someone who has the youth and drive on his side, such as Sergei Pavlovich or Tom Aspinall.
From a head-to-head perspective, yes, I’d rather see those fights. But again, this is completely moot as the Miocic offers a lot of advantages in terms of heritage and reputation.
What is at stake in this war?
Okamoto: Jones’ legacy. If Miocic succeeds, wow. It will add a great chapter to his story and instantly become one of the biggest wins in UFC history. But at the same time, it won’t dramatically change any of the Miocic stories. He’s the all-time heavyweight to join this fight, and win or lose, he’ll still be the heaviest heavyweight after the fight.
The stakes are higher for Jones. Victory over Miocic, especially a memorable finish against Miocic, further cemented Jones as the greatest player of all time. Many fans and observers felt him there, but when you talk about who is the greatest of all time, the gap between each candidate is very thin, isn’t it? There is always an argument to be had. But if Jones takes the field and takes down the greatest heavyweight of all time, his case as MMA GOAT starts to become indisputable. And on the other side of that coin, if he loses to Miocic, that will probably open up more opportunities for GOAT cases of Georges St-Pierre, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Demetrius Johnson And Anderson Silva.
It will also be the first legal loss of Jones’ career, which will be crucial.
What are the thoughts on open betting lines?
Parker: Currently, Jones is anywhere between -330 and -360, and those odds make perfect sense. Jones returned and overcame Cyril Gane, while Miocic had been inactive since 2021, when he handed the belt to Ngannou.
Miocic would be a more formidable opponent than Gane due to his wrestling background and being a technical fighter. Still, a Jones finish is still a possible outcome. With odds of -330/-360, I would consider Jones as the anchor for any parlay bets you may have. When the extra lines come in, I’ll be tracking over 1.5 innings and Jones will win the distance. No matter how well Stipe performed, Jones would knock him down and eventually get to the finish line.
