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It appears we finally have the date and opponent for Jon Jones' highly anticipated octagon return, as it was recently confirmed by Dana White. However, White remained cryptic regarding the heavyweight division's interim title situation involving Tom Aspinall.
Jones hasn't competed since his first-round submission win against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, which saw him win the vacant heavyweight title. The reigning champion was then scheduled to defend his title against former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 last year, however, Jones suffered a pectoral muscle injury while training, which forced him to withdraw from the fight.
Jones' withdrawal from UFC 295 caused Aspinall to step in on short notice to face Sergei Pavlovich for the interim title. Aspinall knocked out Pavlovich in the opening round to become the interim champion and has been since, calling out 'Bones' for a title unification bout. However, Jones has continuously dismissed Aspinall as his next opponent and made it clear he is determined to take on Miocic.
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In a recent interview with Complex, White finally revealed Jones' matchup against Miocic at UFC 309, which will go down on Nov. 16 at the Madison Square Garden in New York (via ESPN MMA):
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''Jon Jones is going to fight [Stipe Miocic] in Madison Square Garden in November. And then if he wins or Stipe wins, we see what happens next.''
In addition to his thoughts about Miocic's retirement, White claimed that Jones would undoubtedly face Aspinall if he prevails over the 42-year-old, saying:
''Do I think Stipe will retire? I do. I do think he will, but you never know...I know for a fact that if Jon Jones wins this fight, and with all this talk that's out there, there's no way in hell he's not fighting Aspinall.''
Check out Dana White's comments below:
During the live broadcast of the currently ongoing Noche UFC 306 pay-per-view event, White took to X to officially announce the Jones vs. Miocic matchup for UFC 309. He also revealed other exciting matchups set to take place on the card along with ticketing details for the event.
Check out White's post on X below:
