Undefeated UFC middleweight phenom Bo Nickal has made his pick for the upcoming Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic clash. ‘Bones’ will walk into the UFC octagon, probably for the last time, on November 16. The reigning heavyweight champ, of course, is set to face former champ and the man considered the heavyweight GOAT, Stipe Miocic, on UFC 309 at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City next weekend.

Nickal has made his official prediction for the mega-clash on MMA legend Demetrious Johnson’s ‘Mightycast’ podcast on YouTube. “I think that, you know, if I had to pick, who’s gonna win the fight, I would say Jon, just because of the long layoff for Stipe,” Nickal said after waxing eloquently about how he has immense respect for both heavyweights and what they have achieved in the sport.

In addition to Miocic’s three-year inactivity and the fact that he is coming off a vicious knockout, Nickal felt that Jones was just too well-rounded; and more importantly, too intelligent for the former champ.

“And when I look at Jon’s tools, he’s just got such a diverse array of, you know, attacks, offense, defense. I think if this fight were to go Stipe’s way, he would probably have to get Jon tired. But I think that John is just so savvy in there. And to me, you know, I would say the two smartest guys that I’ve seen fight are probably you and him,” he continued.

That intelligence and fight IQ, Nickal felt, would be the thing that prevents Jones from falling into any of the traps Miocic sets for him and would be the most important factor in a Jones win. “In MMA they talk about ‘Oh this guy’s so so strong, or he’s got this or that.’ But they don’t talk about intelligence and that’s to me probably the most underrated part of Jon’s game. He’s a very smart fighter, very sound defensively and so I think that I would lean towards him. But I’m excited to see it so it’ll be fun,” Nickal added.

While most agree with Nickal on how the Jones-Miocic clash will go, one man has stuck his neck out bravely and given a very different take for very interesting reasons.

Chael Sonnen boldly predicts Miocic will defeat Jon Jones at UFC 309

Most UFC fighters, including interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall, feel that Jones will win at UFC 309. But one of ‘Bones’s previous opponents and verbose UFC analyst Chael Sonnen disagrees. Why? Well because ‘Uncle Chael’ feels that Miocic will be a huge problem for Jones in the wrestling department.

Miocic, after all, is one of the best boxers in the division’s history and was more than a match for even the legendary Daniel Cormier in their legendary trilogy and Francis Ngannou in their first encounter. On the ground, however, most would agree that Jones has a huge advantage owing to his elite grappling skills.

Even there, however, Sonnen feels Miocic will be a match for Jones. The UFC analyst pointed to how Miocic is naturally bigger and thus more powerful than Jones who moved up to heavyweight from 205lbs just last year. But the thing that ‘Uncle Chael’ didn’t address are perhaps the two most important factors in their matchup- the 42-year-old’s long hiatus and advanced age. What are your thoughts on Bo Nickal’s prediction for the UFC 309 main event?