Will Stipe Miocic Fight Be Jon Jones’ Last?

Brandon Gibson, the long-time coach of MMA icon Jon Jones, has weighed in on the possibility of Jones announcing his retirement after fighting Stipe Miocic. 

Looking at Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic: Could This Be the Last Fight for ‘Bones‘

Miocic vs Jones: What to Expect

Jones and Miocic will meet in a highly anticipated fight at UFC 309. This is the clash of two of the most decorated fighters in MMA history. So, fans and bookmakers are highly excited about this showdown. 

The biggest UFC bookies, some of which are also famous for their online casino games offerings, are backing Jones as the favourite. Miocic lost the UFC heavyweight title in his previous fight and is the underdog to win his first UFC assignment in three years. 

The iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City will host the mega fight on Saturday, November 16th. 

Jones and Miocic are set to fight a year after their originally scheduled fight. The duo was supposed to lock horns at UFC 295 last November. UFC had to reschedule the event after Jones picked up a pectoral muscle injury at training. 

Miocic did not get a replacement fight at UFC 295. UFC CEO Dana White dropped the fighter from the card altogether and declared Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tom Aspinall as the UFC 295 heavyweight event. 

Jones’ Swan Song? 

Jones and Miocic had excellent careers, but they are not getting any younger. Miocic enters the fight three months after his 42nd birthday. Jones is five years younger, but still, he is 37 years old. 

As things stand, the upcoming fight appears to be the perfect opportunity for both fighters to sign out with one greatperformance. 

There have been rumours that Miocic and Jones might call it a day after the UFC 309 headline act. While Miocic has confirmed that he is not thinking about retirement now, Jones has not made any recent comment about his future plans yet. 

The New Jersey fighter did say in September that he plans to retire after fighting Miocic in November. As the fight night approaches, however, Jones has not reiterated any of these intentions to throw in the towel. 

As of now, there is an air of uncertainty around Jones. Is he retiring, or is he planning to continue? There is no concrete information, and this ambiguity is reflected in Gibson’s latest remark. 

He told MMA Fighting that he is ready to support Jones whenever he plans to retire. Gibson, however, also revealed that he believes Jones is physically and psychologically ready for five to six more fights. 

After entering the Octagon for the first time in 2008, Jones went on to build an incredible legacy in the history of the competition. He won the light heavyweight belt in 2011 by beating Maurício Rua at UFC 128. 

Jones made eight successful defences of the title before he lost it under controversial circumstances. 

Before his UFC 187 encounter with Anthony Johnson, ‘Bones’ was involved in a hit-and-run incident, in which a pregnant woman got injured. The UFC and its sponsors punished him heavily afterwards. 

UFC stripped his light heavyweight title and Reebok cancelled their endorsement contract. Jones made history, albeit an undesirable one, as the first UFC champion to lose the title for disciplinary reasons. 

Jones reclaimed the title only to lose it again for failing a dope test. He would win it again, but in a strange case of déjà vu, he tested positive for controlled substances once again and had to relinquish the belt. 

The ever-controversial fighter made the jump to heavyweight last year to fight Cyril Gane. He won via submission to become the UFC heavyweight champion in his heavyweight debut.