Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Jon Jones is in a New York state of mind. At last.
For the first time in a career that stretches back to 2008 and has earned him widespread acclaim as the greatest mixed martial arts athlete ever, the 37-year-old will earn a paycheck fighting in the state where he was born and raised.
A native of Rochester and alumnus of a high school near Binghamton, Jones will take his talents to midtown Manhattan on Saturday night to make the first defense of his 20-month reign as heavyweight champion atop the UFC’s annual show at Madison Square Garden.
The five-bout main card is billed as UFC 309 and is headlined by Jones’ matchup with Stipe Miocic, a former two-time king of the division who’s earned his own laurels as the greatest heavyweight to climb steps into the octagon.
It’s Miocic’s first appearance since his second reign ended at the fists of Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021. Ngannou’s subsequent separation from the company paved the way for Jones to claim the vacated throne by defeating Ciryl Gane in March 2023.
The main show also features a rematch between former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler, as well as an appearance by unbeaten middleweight Bo Nickal, who’s won three times in nine minutes or less since exiting Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022.
The B/R combat team is in place to take in the action and deliver a real-time list of the big event’s definitive winners and losers. Take a look at what we come up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.
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