MMA Knockout

Spine-Tingling UFC Cold Open Will Leave You Speechless Ahead of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

UFC 309 is three days away and the pay-per-view cold open has finally dropped.

Zain Bando

Feb 8, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Jon Jones (red gloves) after his win against Dominick Reyes (not pictured) during UFC 247 at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Feb 8, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Jon Jones (red gloves) after his win against Dominick Reyes (not pictured) during UFC 247 at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

UFC 309 is three days away. It will feature the return of UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who will face former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.

Jones (27-1, 1 NC MMA) has been absent from the UFC since suffering a pectoral injury last fall, which postponed his then-UFC 295 bout with Miocic (20-4 MMA) in Nov. 2023 at Madison Square Garden. Miocic opted to wait for Jones instead of risking fighting for the interim heavyweight title. That belt was won and defended by Aspinall, whose future depends on the Jones-Miocic outcome, barring a potential retirement from either Jones or Miocic or a fight against the rightful winner.

Jones took to Instagram Tuesday night to release the pay-per-view cold open, which is going to be seen by those who watch the broadcast on TV or elsewhere. This won't be shown in the arena, as Stemm's "Face The Pain" intro is shown at the same time.

Ex-UFC Champ Recounts Night Out with Jon Jones - "That's a Dangerous Person"

Jones has never fought in his home state of New York. He won the light heavyweight title via TKO in March 2010 against then-champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in New Jersey at a time when UFC events were banned from taking place in New York State.

Stipe Miocic Only Waited For Jon Jones When Jones Was Recovering From Injury

This is Miocic's first fight since March 2021, where he lost his then-heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou. Miocic held out while contract negotiations loomed regarding Ngannou and future opponents, leading Miocic to return to his day-to-day job as a firefighter in Ohio.

Miocic remained clear he would only fight Jones, regardless of what was transpiring in the division at the time.

Dana White Doubts Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic Retire without Unifying UFC Titles

"You’re damn right [I’ll be Jon’s first fight when he comes back]," Miocic told the JAXXON Podcast in May. "That’s what I want. I’m gonna wait; I don’t care. I want that fight.”

Jones is a -625 favorite at press time, while the comeback on Miocic is +455. Odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99