“I wasn’t amazed by Jon Jones beating that version of Stipe [Miocic].” Well, that’s what Matt Brown and many others believed, even after Jones flawlessly knocked Stipe Miocic out at UFC 309. While ‘Bones’ successfully cemented his legacy with his performance, controversy arose, casting doubt over Jones’ throne. Needless to say, ‘Stone Cold’ was one of the strongest fighters to have graced the UFC heavyweight division. However, he was way past his prime at UFC 309.

Would things have been different had the Jones and Miocic fought at another time? Taking the firefighter’s shortcomings at MSG into account, it was evident that Jones had it easy. Let’s take a deep dive and find out why.

Stipe Miocic wasn’t anywhere near his best against Jon Jones at UFC 309

Age played a major role in deciding the outcome of the fight between Jones and Miocic. Being in his early 40s, ‘Stone Cold’ was visibly slower at UFC 309 than his previous fights. He had almost straight legs and a stagnant stance at MSG. The 42-year-old was way beyond his prime and was an easy target for ‘Bones’. On top of that, he had remained inactive for about 3 years. The last time he fought before UFC 309 was in 2021, when he took on Francis Ngannou at UFC 260, and lost via a second-round KO. 

But there was a time when Miocic dominated the Octagon with his knockout power and wrestling skills. He established himself as one of the strongest heavyweight fighters out there when he rose victorious over Fabrício Werdum at UFC 198, with a first-round knockout. This got Stipe Miocic his HW championship belt. He went on to knock Alistair Overeem in the first round of their bout at UFC 203. Even Junior dos Santos wasn’t able to withstand Miocic’s punches, and was forced to go down in less than 3 minutes to their fight at UFC 211.

In 2018, ‘Stone Cold’ proved himself against ‘The Predator’, and gave him a pretty tough competition. Miocic’s strength and agility got him a unanimous decision win over Francis Ngannou in 2018, successfully defending his belt for the third consecutive time. On top of that, the firefighter successfully secured 2 wins against Daniel Cormier, during his second title run.

Even during his rematch with Ngannou, Miocic displayed his agility by bouncing around the Octagon. Additionally, he seemed to have a bigger gas tank, 3 years ago. Had he fought the undisputed heavyweight champion back in his heyday, the outcome might have been different. Why? Miocic was always a heavyweight, while Jon Jones had previously entered the HW realm in 2023. No doubt, ‘Bones’ never really faced a strong heavyweight in his prime. His experience against strong heavyweights puts ‘Stone Cold’ in a pretty advantageous stage, don’t you agree?

Brendan Schaub and many others have reflected on Miocic’s diminished athletic prowess. Schaub claimed, “I think he’s been done for a long time and he knows his body is a fraction of what it used to be. He can’t really put his best foot forward. He’s just lucky to move his foot at all at this point.”

Well, standing upright against someone like Ngannou proved Miocic’s athletic and fighting skills. After all, the Cameroonian had accomplished quite a bit as a heavyweight. 

Francis Ngannou has done more than what Jon Jones has

Before Jones stepped into the heavyweight realm, Ngannou was the one who dominated the division. Just like ‘Bones’, ‘The Predator’ also fought and won against Ciryl Gane and Stipe Miocic. However, he fought them when they were still in their prime. On top of that, the Cameroonian mixed martial artist had secured several wins against strong and well-appreciated heavyweights in the UFC. 

UFC Fight Night 141 witnessed Ngannou defeat Curtis Blaydes for the second time. He then went on to defeat Cain Velasquez in 2019, within just 26 seconds into their bout. ‘Cigano’ also faced a first-round KO defeat at the hands of Ngannou when they fought in 2019. Thereafter, ‘The Predator’ fought Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 2020, and won via KO with punches in just 20 seconds. This was the 4th consecutive time Ngannou won in the very first round. 

Then came his rematch against Miocic at UFC 260. While Miocic survived till the third round as a 42-year-old against Jones, he dropped down within a minute to the second round against Ngannou as he connected his left hook to ‘Stone Cold’s face. This left hook was the move that got the Cameroonian his heavyweight championship belt. He successfully defended his belt against Gane at UFC 270, before vacating his throne and moving out of the UFC. 

Looking at the records of Jones and Ngannou, it can be said that ‘The Predator’ has indeed accomplished a lot more in the heavyweight division than ‘Bones’. But we can truly decide the better warrior only if they fight each other. However, there is one way for the heavyweight champion to prove himself as a GOAT. 

The only way ‘Bones’ can achieve the HW Goat status- Tom Aspinall

Fighting Tom Aspinall is the only way Jones could reclaim his GOAT status. The ‘Honey Badger’, just like Jones, has secured 11 wins by KO/TKO in his professional MMA career. 14 of his 15 wins were achieved within the first round. He has been defeated only thrice, out of which one came via DQ. Having wins over Blaydes, Sergei Pavlovich, Marcin Tybura, and Alexander Volkov, Aspinall can indeed be considered the perfect opponent for Jones to prove himself. On top of that, Aspinall is the interim champion of the division. However, ‘Bones’ doesn’t really want to fight the Britisher. He claimed that Aspinall “hasn’t proven anything.”

Weighing in on Jones ducking Aspinall, Colby Covington, in an interview with ‘Fight Hub’, claimed that he was simply destroying his legacy. He said, “For sure, Jon Jones is scared of him, he’s ducking him, he doesn’t want to fight f—ing Tom Aspinall. That’s why he’s like, ‘I’ll vacate the title and fight the number ten guy’. He’s f—ing scared. Why do people think Jon Jones is the goat? He literally destroyed his legacy by ducking Tom Aspinall. The guy is a f—ing b–ch; he’s a coward.”

Aspinall, on the other hand, was relieved when Jones didn’t retire and hinted at a possible matchup against him. “This is the fight the fans want,” he claimed. “This is the fight that has to happen now.” Even Dana White has assured the fight fans that a fight between Jones and Aspinall would be the next big event in the HW division. However, the 37-year-old seemed ready to vacate his title and fight someone else, rather than fight Aspinall. Nevertheless, Jones would do what White and Hunter Campbell would ask of him.

What are your thoughts on Jones’ legacy? Do you think he would have lost had Miocic been in his prime? Who do you think would win if Aspinall and Jones locked horns? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.