Michael Chandler previews UFC 309 fight between "Dana's GOAT" Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic
Jon Jones will return to the cage at UFC 309 for the first time in close to two years and a fellow fighter of prominence on the card has given his thoughts on Jones' return bout. Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic is set to transpire on Nov. 16 with the former defending his heavyweight title against the latter inside Madison Square Garden.
That massive attraction is set to headline the pay-per-view but the card overall is quite deep. One of the participants in this UFC PPV co-main event, Michael Chandler, was asked at the pre-fight media day about what his thoughts are on the lone fight that will transpire after his rematch against Charles Oliveira. Getting into the machinations of the matchup between Jones and Miocic, Chandler said:
"Man, the two heavyweight GOATs. It's going to be exciting. I mean obviously you look at both guys' attributes, you know, both being out of competition for a little while, it brings a certain amount of intrigue and mystique when guys have been out for a while. Man, you've got Jon Jones who is everybody's GOAT. Definitely Dana's GOAT [laughs]."
"Then you've got Stipe who has so many tools and they're both exciting. I mean we're talking about a heavyweight fight, sometimes heavyweight fights can tend to be a little bit boring, a little bit slow. These guys are out for blood. These guys are out for a finish from the first bell to the last bell. So make sure you buy that pay-per-view early."
Check out Michael Chandler's breakdown of the Jones vs. Miocic bout below (7:19):
Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, and the specter of Tom Aspinall
Sometimes people will use terms like lineal champion or undisputed champion almost interchangeably with a certain flippancy and lack of care to what some of these terms actually mean. While Jon Jones is the lineal champion and some could refer to him as the undisputed champion in that context, there are many fans and one fighter in particular who would in fact dispute this distinction.
Tom Aspinall is the interim UFC heavyweight champion and has actually defended his strap which the lineal titleholder in the weight category, Jones, cannot claim. The 37-year-old seems categorically disinterested in any kind of future title unification bout against Aspinall and the UK-based interim titleholder has frequently described Jones' behavior as ducking.
Aspinall recently addressed the matter on his YouTube channel, making a point to say he respected the legacies of 'Bones' and Stipe Miocic but called into question why their fight was for the lineal title. Aspinall referred to the Rochester native's championship as a disputed title just days out from UFC 309.
Check out Tom Aspinall's comments below: