Michael Bisping has backed Jon Jones to overcome Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 – but not with a “traditional knockout”.
Jones will defend the heavyweight title against former champion Miocic on 16 November, a year after the pair were first due to clash. The bout was postponed last November when Jones, a former two-time light-heavyweight title holder, suffered an injury two weeks before fight night.
And on that night, Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich stepped up, fighting for the interim belt. Aspinall knocked out the Russian in round one, becoming the third British champion in UFC history – and complicating the heavyweight title picture. The Wigan fighter retained the interim gold in July with a first-round KO of Curtis Blaydes, and now he awaits the winner of Jones, 37, versus Miocic, 42 – if the victor doesn’t retire, that is.
Much of the narrative around UFC 309 has revolved around Aspinall and what comes next, but The Independent spoke to Bisping about the actual details of Jones vs Miocic as a match-up.
Bisping, the first-ever British UFC champion and a TNT Sports pundit, said: “I think people are overlooking Stipe because this sport’s about what you’ve done for me lately. His last fight was a brutal knockout by Francis Ngannou [in 2021], and I think a lot of people are thinking Stipe’s getting older.
“But I think the time away from the Octagon is gonna be a big blessing in disguise for Stipe. Not only does it allow him much, much longer to recover from the knockout, so he’ll have no long-lasting issues, but it’s also gonna bring back that fire in him.”
However, Bisping understands why bookies have installed Jones as the favourite over Miocic.
“I do think Jon probably wins this fight, that would be my early pick,” said the 45-year-old, who retired as a fighter in 2017. “I don’t think we see a ‘traditional’ knockout, in terms of one punch and Stipe goes to sleep. But I could potentially see a stoppage in the clinch – in the form of knees, elbows, slice him open, drop him and follow him down to the canvas, ground and pound or a choke.
“If there is gonna be a one-punch knockout, that’s gonna come from Stipe. I’m looking at Jon’s record right now: 27-1, 10 wins by knockout, but I don’t think any of those knockouts were ‘one punch and you’re done’. He’s never been that guy, but he’s very diverse in his skillset and deadly in his approach. He’s extremely aggressive, he’s nasty. The knees, the elbows, the kicks to the leg, the chokes, the wrestling. You put it all together, there’s no weak areas.”
What, then, is Miocic’s route to victory? Pursuing a one-punch KO?
“Stipe is a big, strong guy. He’s got knockout power,” Bisping said. “And stylistically he can cause a lot of problems for Jon. He’s got great wrestling; DC [Daniel Cormier] wasn’t able to boss him around, and DC’s one of the greatest wrestlers to compete in the sport.
“On the feet, I think Stipe hits harder, but I do think Jon has a lot of other advantages in terms of how diverse he is in his approach, in terms of the experience he has with different opponents, and the IQ and gameplanning he has. Nobody quite does it like Jon Jones.
“[If I were in Miocic’s corner], I would advise Stipe to believe in himself and force the fight. Go forward and try to put Jon on the back foot. Last thing you want is to back up, get pushed up against the fence; that allows the guy in control so many more options. He can back away whenever he wants, it’s easier to take you down or pick shots.
“If I was Stipe, I’d try to put Jon on the back foot straight away and force the pace. Stipe’s got much bigger power. One of the things that would trouble me if I was a Jon Jones fan is: ‘Has the power transferred to heavyweight?’ We don’t know. In terms of grappling, for sure it has.”
Jones won the vacant heavyweight title on his divisional debut, submitting Ciryl Gane in March 2023. The American has not fought since that first-round victory, in which he was able to quickly implement his wrestling skills – and was therefore not tested in the striking.
Miocic’s last fight was his knockout loss to Ngannou, almost four years ago, when the American lost the heavyweight title. Three years earlier, Miocic dominated Ngannou for a decision win.
Watch UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic exclusively live on TNT Sports Box Office from 1am GMT on Sunday 17 November. For more info visit: tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice.
