UFC 309: The Perfect Bow on Top for Jones and Miocic

By
Gabriel Gonzalez
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 15: (L-R) Opponents Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic face off during the UFC 309 ceremonial weigh-in at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Both Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will look to put the perfect bow on their careers, potentially, as they clash at UFC 309.

At a time when superstardom for mixed martial artists involves crossing over into other media, Jon Jones remains different.  The longtime light-heavyweight champion and now heavyweight kingpin remains, over a decade later, a box office attraction of the highest order without having crossed over into major motion pictures, television, or music.  If you need convincing, then you should look no further than the astronomical resale prices for tickets to his cancelled fight last November.

While his professional career has been a dramatic saga, to say the least, his status as the most dominant talent the sport has ever seen remains unquestioned.  There is indeed great demand to see him test himself against a next generation talent in Tom Aspinall, but the fact is there will always be another up-and-comer who rises through the ranks.  After years of dominance, Jones has the chance to put the perfect capstone on his career and retire as a reigning champion and officially lock him into his place in MMA history.  Adding a talent like Aspinall would be a huge feather in his cap.  But Jones would need to ask himself if it’s even worth it when there will always be another to rise up through the ranks anyway.

The situation is similar and yet uniquely different for Stipe Miocic.  The most decorated UFC heavyweight champion in promotional history also has victories over some of the best fighters the weight class has ever seen in the past decade.  While Jones is new to the weight class, the layoff for Miocic almost serves as a jumping off point.  His departure coincided with the emergence of a new wave of contenders like Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, Sergei Spivac, and more over the past 24 months.  Like Jones, Miocic could continue to pursue bouts with the next era of fighters.  But after achieving so much at this stage of his career, one begins to weigh whether or not it’s worth it to go through the struggle of climbing the ladder again.

A victory for Saturday would be a seminal one in a career that has seen plenty of triumphs.  For one, the UFC would almost immediately up the financial gain for both men to sell an immediate rematch should Miocic pull off the upset.  Or should Jones decide otherwise, Miocic would also get a shot at a second major payday to defend against Aspinall in order to potentially build the budding English star.  Considering that Miocic has not seen the cage since March of 2021, to be in discussion for such matches amidst several well-performing contenders is an enviable position.  That, is of course, if that’s what he chooses to do.  One could argue there could be no better moment to call it a career than by upsetting the GOAT of the entire sport.

A victory for Jones is expected to lead to him to see how much the UFC would be willing to offer for him to extend his career and face current interim champion Tom Aspinall.  That fight would be amongst the biggest to be made in 2025.  A victory for Miocic would likely have a similar discussion if Jones chooses to retire off a loss, but most expect that the UFC would take the opportunity and pay both men for what would be a lucrative immediate rematch for all parties involved.

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