It seems like the challenger, Stipe Miocic, is all confident ahead of his title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 309. ‘Stone Cold’ has had a truly incredible career, having defended the heavyweight title three consecutive times. Even though he had been missing since his UFC 260 KO loss to Francis Ngannou, one cannot truly count him out.

Rest assured, the former champ seems to be doing everything he can to win on November 17th. But what if he has to pull out of the fight? One can’t count this possibility out, especially after Jon Jones pulled out of their scheduled UFC 295 bout due to a torn pectoral tendon. To give more clarity to fans awaiting the bout, Stipe Miocic himself dropped an update on his health in a recent interview.

Speaking to MMAFightingonSBN, Miocic talked about how he’s feeling heading into the fight against the mighty Jon Jones. The long break might have left some ring rust that may show on fight day. However, ‘Stone Cold’ clarified that he feels much better now more than ever since he took the break.

He said, “It’s been great… in a way, good in a way, because, you know, my son, you know, he’s growing up, and I think [about] giving my body rest, you know, even though I’m training. So, I… I can take a day off. I don’t have to worry about [thoughts] like, ‘Oh yeah, I trained; I’m all beat up. Let’s just do something different today.”

Miocic continued, “It’s been great, you know? You know, when you’re older than 42, you listen to your body more. It’s great, and uh… been great, been… been a blessing.” He further added that since taking the break, he has improved several aspects of his skillset that might prove lethal against Jones.

“There’s no question. I know I have been – I’m faster, I’m stronger; you know I have more in my tools, sharpening them on my mark. So you know I’ll be ready; there’s no question,” Miocic said. Therefore, he is not at all bothered about the talks like he should not have got the fight against Jones.

“It wasn’t my choice. It’s a fight I wanted, and the UFC gave it to me. They didn’t have to. They gave it to me,” Miocic said. Probably, one reason for setting up the fight was the legacy he’s built as arguably the greatest heavyweight in UFC history with the record for the most title defenses in the division (three total). Miocic believes his fight against Jones just means more to the sport.

“I believe so [there’s a reason why it’s happening]. I believe people want to see that. I think a lot more people want to see the fight than him fight Aspinall,” Miocic said. For the unversed, Miocic was set for this same fight almost exactly one year ago before a torn pectoral muscle knocked Jones off the card. There is indeed every reason for people to witness the fight, just because of the portfolio Miocic comes with, if not for anything else.

The UFC heavyweight title happens to be one of the toughest UFC titles to defend. The newly-crowned champions usually could record more than one title defense before losing it to the next challenger to step up. Miocic changed it all when he rose to the top of the division. Miocic knocked out then-champion Fabricio Werdum in the first round at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil, to get hold of the undisputed title back in May 2016.

He then stopped Dutch ace Alistair Overeem in the first round four months later at UFC 198 in his native Cleveland, Ohio which was his first title defense. Miocic continued his run with another first-round stoppage as he TKO’d former champion Junior dos Santos at UFC 211 in Dallas, Texas, before facing surging contender and terrifying knockout artist Francis Ngannou at UFC 220 in Boston in January 2018.

Many believed that Ngannou would stop Miocic. But in a one-sided contest, Miocic dominated Ngannou with his wrestling to claim a shutout win and set a record for the most consecutive heavyweight title defenses with three. Miocic’s title run came to an end in Las Vegas after losing to Daniel Cormier as he knocked him out at UFC 226. But, Miocic made a stunning comeback 13 months later in the rematch to stop Cormier in the fourth round at UFC 241 in Anaheim, California.

With Miocic’s fourth championship defense on the card,  a rematch with a much-improved Ngannou was set. But Miocic was knocked out in the second round at UFC 260 in March 2021. Many thought that Miocic would retire after that defeat, but he vowed to continue.

The Croatian-American MMA fighter seems composed and ready for his fight against ‘Bones.’ However, his peers in the UFC believe that it is going to be an easy fight for Jon Jones. But who are the peers, and why do they believe Stipe Miocic will taste defeat at Madison Square Garden?

Stipe Miocic enters as the underdog at UFC 309

One of the biggest doubters that Stipe Miocic has is Tom Aspinall. The English fighter wondered, in an interview, how Stipe Miocic got a title opportunity ahead of him, that too after three years away from the sport. Showing a lack of confidence in Miocic’s present skills, Aspinall shared the belief that the UFC should’ve taken Stipe out of the fight considering that he is 42 years old and has been out of action for three years, after his knockout loss.

He further added that he acknowledges Miocic’s legendary status in the sport, and statistically – he is the greatest heavyweight of all time. However, Aspinall feels it is time for him to retire. The interim heavyweight champ has even compared Miocic to the current President of the United States, Joe Biden, equating the politician’s old age and apparent weariness with the American fighter. In fact, Jon Jones’ legacy is also not something to be ignored.

In 29 career fights, Jones’ only loss came through a contentious disqualification by a rule that has since been wiped from the Unified Rules of MMA. So many consider Jones to be unbeaten. His past opponents speak a lot about his caliber. Between August 2008 and February 2020, he faced the cream of the light heavyweight division, defeating the likes of Stephan Bonnar, Ryan Bader, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira, and Daniel Cormier.

It is not without reason that the UFC president and CEO Dana White, called him the sport’s GOAT. But, he was hungry for more. So Jones announced to move up to heavyweight in 2020 and demolished top contender Ciryl Gane in just 124 seconds to become the heavyweight Champion at UFC 285 in March 2023.

That win made Jones a two-division UFC champion as he extended his record for the longest undefeated streak in UFC history to 19 fights. Now in a legacy fight, he plans to add another achievement to his long line of successes by defeating a legendary fighter like Miocic. And Derrick Lewis also believes that Miocic will be on the losing side at the end of the night.

Ahead of his fight against Jhonata Diniz at UFC Fight Night 246, Lewis revealed that he believes Jon Jones would stop Miocic early – “I think Jones will beat him in the first round.” It definitely looks like Miocic has a lot to prove to his detractors. But what do you think? Will he be able to pull it off? Let us know in the comments.