Athletes
Jon Jones And Stipe Miocic Finally Do Battle In New York City
Legends Collide At Madison Square Garden When UFC Returns To New York City On November 16
To have a pair of historically great championship fighters square up across from one another is always a special moment, so when you have the greatest light heavyweight champion (and arguably greatest fighter, period) in Jon Jones set to face the greatest heavyweight champion in Stipe Miocic, it’s worth the wait regardless of age. It’s why, after an injury forced Jones out of their initial booking at UFC 295, UFC CEO Dana White was adamant about keeping the matchup locked. Miocic, the UFC heavyweight division’s all-time leader in title fight wins (6) and consecutive defenses (3), is more than deserving of a crack at defeating Jones. For “Bones,” who himself is UFC’s all-time leader in title fight wins (15), Miocic is the man he wanted to face from the moment he grabbed the heavyweight title at UFC 285.
That’s all to say: many wishes are granted at UFC 309 when Jones and Miocic make the final walks of the night in the World’s Most Famous Arena. Jones, who breezed past Ciryl Gane in his long-awaited divisional debut, holds more accolades than several fighters could wish to collect in their entire careers, and finally defending his heavyweight title would rank up among the highest. The 37-year-old got his first taste of UFC gold 13 years ago when he wrested the light heavyweight belt from Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Twelve years later, he got that second belt coming off a three-year layoff. If there was anything disappointing about his heavyweight debut, it was the fact that we only got to see Jones work for all of 124 seconds. The glimpse did little to quench the curiosity of mixed martial arts fans, but Miocic possesses all the skills and experience to push Jones in a unique way.
Miocic, 42, made his UFC debut about seven months after Jones won the light heavyweight title, and since May 2016 has only competed for a UFC title. For as storied as Jones’ run from 2011 to 2015 was, including wins over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier, Miocic’s first reign was just as impressive. After knocking out Fabricio Werdum to capture the title, the Ohio native knocked out Alistair Overeem and Junior Dos Santos inside the first frame before his record-breaking title defense against Francis Ngannou.
After each man had a rivalry against Daniel Cormier in their respective divisions, it just feels right to settle this score. Two great champions colliding in Madison Square Garden is a setup any real combat sports fan should enjoy. Although each man is in the latter stages of their career, it doesn’t take away from the fact that they are poised to test each other in real and exciting ways. In another frame of mind, the matchup is also a nice conclusion to a particular era of the sport.
Whether or not either man competes after the bout, Jones and Miocic are two of the few representatives of a different era who competed and succeeded at the highest level for more than a decade. You can’t write the history of the sport without significant entries about both men, and the fact that they are finally crossing paths in the Octagon is to be celebrated.
While the wait for the fight has been understandably frustrating for all involved, the heavyweight division has continued to move and progress while the two legends await their moment. Tom Aspinall first captured the interim belt in style at UFC 295 before defending it at home at UFC 304, all in a combined 129 seconds. A good pocket of fans believe Jones should defend his belt against the interim champion, and while that argument is more than fair, few fighters, if any, garner as much ability to call their shot than Jones when it comes to mixed martial arts.
Whoever comes away with the belt in New York City has a whole new generation of contenders ahead of them, Aspinall chief among them. If the rumored double-retirement between Jones and Miocic does take place, then Aspinall is well on his way to carving out a championship legacy of his own. Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov are set to duel once again at UFC 307, which could provide a No. 2 contender of sorts. On top of that, Sergei Pavlovich, Curtis Blaydes, Jailton Almeida and Serghei Spivac headline a group of competitive, experienced and championship-caliber heavyweights keen for their crack at gold.
In essence, no matter what happens on November 16, the heavyweight title picture is in a fascinating place. Before all that, though, we might as well enjoy the clash between Jones and Miocic.
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