UFC 309 is here, and with it, the return of Jon Jones, making the first defense of his heavyweight title opposite Stipe Miocic.
One year ago, when the bout was originally supposed to take place at UFC 295, it was a head-scratcher. Miocic hadn’t fought since 2021, and was coming off a loss to Francis Ngannou. But Jones was fresh off a win over Ciryl Gane, and Jones vs. Miocic was a legacy fight in a division with no clear contender.
When Jones pulled out of UFC 295, Tom Aspinall claimed interim gold against Serghei Pavlovich. That in and of itself might not have earned the British heavyweight a shot at Jones, but then Aspinall went and defended his interim belt against Curtis Blaydes. Now, it seems like the Brit is the far more deserving fighter – but Jones and Miocic simply has to happen first, because it’s what the UFC wants. And it’s all about name value (which worked so very well in Paul vs. Tyson one night prior).
Well, UFC 309 goes down tonight and our crew knows exactly who they see coming out on top. Check below for our main card staff picks!
| Writer / Fight | Ruffy vs. Llontop | Araujo vs. Silva | Craig vs. Nickal | Oliveira vs. Chandler | Jones vs. Miocic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Anderson (121-79) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Eddie Law (116-83) | | | |  | |
| Alex Behunin (113-82) | | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (94-73) | | | | | |
| Cade Morehouse (80-70) | | | | | |
| Patrick McCorry (88-75) | | | | | |
| Mathis Desjardins (10-4) | | | | | |
| Brett Cagle (10-9) | | | | | |
Our team has never been more confident in our picks, and we say that with confidence. There were just two dissenting opinions for the entire UFC 309 main card. Mauricio Ruffy, Karine Silva, Bo Nickal, and Jon Jones all took 100% of the vote in their respective fight.
Michael Chandler, meanwhile, had just two writers side with him as he looks to defeat Charles Oliveira in the co-main event rematch. The remaining writers responding all sided with “Do Bronx.” Will the card turn out to be as much of a landslide as we expect? Stay tuned!
