Jon Jones makes his long-awaited return from injury to defend his UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The former light heavyweight champion faces a former heavyweight champion in 42-year-old Miocic.
Ohio’s Miocic holds the record for most successful heavyweight title defenses, while Jones will defend the title he won in 2023.
The fight was originally scheduled to take place in November 2023, but due to an injury to Jones and subsequent withdrawal of Miocic, Tom Aspinall stepped in to become interim champion.
Jones, 37, is considered by many to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, but has already hinted that his showdown with Miocic could be his last MMA fight.
Both men have spent long periods on the sidelines. Jones hasn’t fought since March 2023, when he defeated Ciryl Gane to become heavyweight champion, while Miocic hasn’t fought since March 2021.
The undercard includes a lightweight bout between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler, as well as Scot Paul Craig and Welshman Oban Elliott in action.
You can catch live text commentary from UFC 309 from 04:00 GMT on Sunday, November 17 on the BBC Sport website and app.
What are the UK times for UFC 309?
UFC events typically follow a consistent schedule and UFC 309 is expected to be the same.
The preliminary rounds start at 01:00 GMT on Sunday, November 17.
The main map starts from 03:00 amwith Jones v Miocic not expected to start sooner 5:00 am.
Who is on the UFC 309 fight card and what is the starting order?
Jon Jones v Stipe Miocic – UFC Heavyweight Title Fight (5×5 minute rounds)
Main card
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Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler 2 – Lightweight (5x5min rounds)
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Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva – Flyweight (3×5 minute rounds)
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Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig – Middleweight
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Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders – Middleweight
Undercard
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Mauricio Ruffy vs. James Llontop – Lightweight
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Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov – light heavyweight
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Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee – Bantamweight
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Jim Miller vs. Damon Jackson – Lightweight
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David Onama vs Lucas Almeida
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Mickey Gall vs. Ramiz Brahimaj – Welterweight
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Oban Elliott vs. Bassil Hafez – Welterweight
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Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura – Flyweight
How does Jones and Miocic’s data compare?
Jones (27-1-1NC) is always in the conversation for the greatest fighter of all time, but in Miocic he faces a man considered the most consistent heavyweight champion of all time in the UFC.
Miocic (20-4) has captured the title twice and has fought a who’s who of heavyweights over the years. He has victories over Francis Ngannou, Daniel Cormier, Andrei Arlovski and Fabricio Werdum.
The big hitter has fifteen stoppages in twenty wins and has lost just four times. They came against Cormier, Ngannou, Junior dos Santos and Stefan Struve.
Miocic relies on his excellent cardio and punching power to overwhelm his opponents and has the most finishes in UFC heavyweight title fights (4).
He is also tied with all-time great Randy Couture for most title fight wins (6). No one has more successfully defended a heavyweight UFC title than Miocic.
Albuquerque’s Jones has just one loss to his name, a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in 2009. He has 27 wins in 29 fights after a 2017 win over bitter rival Cormier was overturned to a no-contest due to a failed drug test. . Jones has served two doping bans in his UFC career.
Jones is the youngest UFC champion in history, winning the light heavyweight title when he was just 23 years old.
At 6-foot-1, he was an unstoppable force at light heavyweight, beating every competitor before him, including Cormier, Ryan Bader, Mauricio Rua, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort and Rashad Evans.
Jones is known as a near-perfect all-around fighter, capable of stopping, subduing or outdoing an opponent.
He has 10 stoppages and seven submissions under his belt and has the most successful title defenses in light heavyweight history (11), tying him with flyweight legend Demetrious Johnson for the most title defenses in UFC history.
Where do Jones and Miocic rank in the heavyweight rankings?
