UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic Tips
The Undisputed Heavyweight title is back on the line for the first time in more than 18 months at UFC 309 as two legends of the sport collide with Jon Jones facing Stipe Miocic.
This fight was originally booked for this time last year at New York’s historic Madison Square Garden, however Jones was ruled out with injury.
Meanwhile there is an intriguing Lightweight title eliminator in the co-main event as Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler face off in a rematch of their 2021 barnburner.
TIP 1 - [Jon Jones to Win & Under 1.5 Rounds - 22/25)]https://www.betuk.com/betting/mma/ufc#event/1021633417)
The UFC are promoting this main event between Jon Jones (27-1-0, 1 NC) and Stipe Miocic (20-4) as the “greatest of all time” taking on the “greatest heavyweight” of all time.
There is no doubt that Jones would be right at the top of most peoples’ lists when it comes to the “G.O.A.T” conversation.
Jones is still the UFC’s youngest ever champion when he captured the Light Heavyweight title at 23 years old when TKO’ing Maurício Rua in the third round way back in 2011.
He holds many UFC records in the Light Heavyweight division, including the most title defences, most wins, and longest win streak.
Jones defeated a who’s who of legends during his run, including Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen
His only defeat was a disputed disqualification against Matt Hammill for landing a 12-6 elbow, with a recent rule change meaning this will be only the second UFC event where the downward elbow is now allowed.
Jones has had his controversial moments, twice stripped of titles for matters outside of the Octagon, but each time he has risen back to the top.
Vacating the Light Heavyweight belt in 2020 with a 14-0 1 no contest record in title class, Jones sought a move to Heavyweight where he went on to defeat Cyril Gane in the first round to win the title in 2023.
Meanwhile, Stipe Miocic comes into this considered by many as the greatest heavyweight of all time.
A two-time champion, the American made a record three defences of his title during his first run as belt holder from 2016, including knocking out Fabrício Werdum in the first round.
Miocic handed rising star Francis Ngannou his first UFC defeat in 2018, before losing the belt to Daniel Cormier in what was the first of their trilogy. Miocic won the final two encounters with Cormier to regain his championship title before being knocked out in a rematch with Ngannou in his last outing in March 2021.
Now at 42 years old, Miocic has been over three-and-a-half years away from the Octagon, which could be a telling factor.
While Jones has had inactivity, he showed when winning the title his striking range and impeccable grappling still was on point.
With the added danger of competing at Heavyweight, expect Jones to try and exploit any openings to try and finish the fight and get the job done as quickly as possible.
TIP 2 - Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler - Under 2.5 rounds - 4/11
In the aftermath of Khabib Nurmagomedov retiring, Charles Oliveira (34-10) defeated Michael Chandler (23-8) for the vacant lightweight title in 2021, in what was a wild fight while it lasted.
The Brazilian scored a TKO finish 17 seconds into the second round, catching the American with a left hand before finishing the fight on the ground.
Both had their moments in the first round, Chandler twice hurting Oliveira with a left hook and locking in a tight guillotine submission attempt.
However Oliveira is a fighter that thrives in chaos, 20 of his 22 UFC wins have ended inside the distance, with 16 of those successes coming by submission.
The 35-year-old’s win against Chandler was part of an 11-fight unbeaten streak, with his exciting style earning him eight bonuses.
Oliveira lost his belt on the scales, coming in heavy ahead of his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 in May 2022, before he then went on to lose to Islam Makhachev for the vacant title months later.
The Brazilian was last seen at UFC 300 in April, losing in a split decision to Arman Tsarukyan over three rounds.
Chandler meanwhile has been out of action since losing to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022.
That third-round submission defeat was a third loss in four for the American, who is now 2-3 in the UFC.
Win or lose, he is always in exciting fights, with his “Fight of the Night” unanimous decision defeat to Gaethje the only one of his five in the UFC that has seen the judges scorecards.
Chandler’s absence from the Octagon since the Poirier loss has been due to waiting for a proposed bout with Conor McGregor, with the Irishman pulling out of their fight at UFC 303 due to a broken toe.
As much as we’d love to see this one go the full scheduled championship distance, neither fighter has the style to make this one last 25 minutes and under 2.5 rounds feels like plenty of time for the expected chaos to play out to a conclusion.
TIP 3 - Jonathan Martinez to win - 57/50
This one between Jonathan Martinez and Marcus McGhee could well be one of the fights of the night.
Martinez was last seen at UFC 301 in Brazil where he lost by unanimous decision on Jose Aldo’s return to the sport.
Although outclassed by the former Featherweight champion, the 30-year-old showed his toughness against one of the greatest of all time.
Prior to that fight, Martinez had put together a six-fight win streak as he burst into the top 15.
Still ranked at number 13 at Bantamweight, Martinez has taken the scalps of names such as Adrian Yanez, Said Nurmagomedov and Cub Swanson.
His wins against Yanez and Swanson earned performance of the night bonuses, as both were rare finishes by leg kick.
McGhee is 3-0 in the UFC, ending all three inside the distance.
The 34-year-old earned performance bonuses for all those wins, with two KO/TKO’s and one submission.
However, McGhee will have to make a step up here with his victories over Gaston Bolaños, JP Buys and Journey Newson coming at a lower level than where Martinez is at.
Martinez has some serious power in his leg kicks and will look to compromise and slow McGhee down early, which could set him up to get back in the win column.