UFC 309: 5 burning questions ahead of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic
This weekend is a crowded one for combat sports fans, and in particular those who love watching heavyweight action. With back-to-back events happening between boxing’s big Netflix foray on Friday with Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul, and the UFC’s even bigger return to Madison Square Garden on Saturday for UFC 309, it’s time to ask the most burning questions of the weekend.
Let’s have a go.
1. With a victory over Stipe Miocic, will Jon Jones do what's right and fight Tom Aspinall to unify the heavyweight title?
Petesy: I’m trying to embrace Ariel Helwani’s optimism that this is in fact a great troll from “Bones,” but I honestly don’t believe it is. I think he’s serious about pursuing your fellow Danbury local Alex Pereira, and if he had it his way, “Poatan” will be next in line for the heavyweight title and Aspinall will be left on the shelf.
Honestly, I suspect Jones is probably pissed off that a light heavyweight champion has come along that is popular and beloved by the fan base. I think he wants to show, albeit at a heavier weight class, that he’s still the meanest dog in the yard. The problem is, as far as I’m concerned, he would have to beat Aspinall — a surging heavyweight (interim) champion — to prove that.
The thing is, the UFC can make this right if this situation plays out.
I don’t think for one second that Jones is afraid of Aspinall. Similar to the impasse that was hit with Ngannou and Jones, I think we’re hurtling toward history repeating itself in the UFC’s heavyweight division. But let’s not forget it was once Jones who earned the ire of Dana White for wanting “Deontay Wilder money” to fight Ngannou. Should that situation happen again, they better cough it up.
What do you think?
Chuck: As much as I want to give Jones the benefit of the doubt, I honestly don’t think he wants anything to do with Sir Thomas Paul Aspinall of Salford. There was a part of me, some wicked corner of my mind, that was hoping Stipe Miocic would pull out for some reason this week, forcing the UFC to present Aspinall to Jones as the backup. How fast would Jones have shut that down? If he wasn’t going to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice back at UFC 151, there’s no way in hell he’d take on a bludgeoning meatfist like Aspinall on 72 hours' notice.
But that’s not the question. The question is: Will he do the right thing and fight Aspinall with a successful performance against Miocic? I think he will — if the UFC gives him the right incentives. I get the idea that Jones looks at his own résumé like a beautiful garden that he has maintained over the years, some topiary set up like you see in the hills, with little dolphins and cupids made out of some bushes. He likes it to look perfect. Impeccable.
That Aspinall fight could ruin this idyllic garden, Petesy, and he’s very protective to keep pests out. Very protective, indeed.
It’s going to take some finessing from the UFC.
2. Is Stipe Miocic done win or lose at UFC 309?
Chuck: Stipe is one of those guys who, at some point along the way, no longer seemed to care for the things that fighters generally care about. Things like fame. Notoriety. Silk jammies. Stacks of Benjamins and fast cars. He never gave up his day job as a fireman, and — hailing from Cleveland up there in what they call the “Rust Belt,” Petesy — his blue-collar sensibilities are incorruptible.
The one thing he cares about is his legacy. If he goes in there and beats Jones, he signs off on an extraordinary career by doing what no man has done. That sunset will open its arms to him and he will walk into that sunset a hero. If he loses, as oddsmakers and many fans think he will, I don’t think he’ll be burning to get it back. That’s life. Being content in his station is what defines Miocic at this point. It’s not a burning hunger or a reluctance to let go.
He's fine being outside the cage. This is the last time we’ll see him make the walk.
Petesy: I tend to agree. I think Miocic will walk away from the sport, and he will bow out as one of the greats whether he wins or losses on Saturday night.
I will say, I’m titillated by the thought of Miocic upsetting the applecart on this one. Even though he’s on the posters for the event, in many ways he feels like a peripheral character, watching on as Jones and Aspinall are throwing mud at each other at every given opportunity.
Miocic got a chance to stoke the tiny flame that ignited between him and Jones when the champion took exception to him saying, "Bring it on, b*tch," and instead of being combative, he apologized on Ariel’s show.
I guess that’s what we love about him. He is in this for the sport of it, and he always been above the bulls**t. I just can’t help but wonder if, deep down, he sympathizes with Tom Aspinall’s frustration this week.
3. What's at stake for the Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler winner?
Petesy: I don’t know about you, Chuck, but the thing I like most about this fight is that it is void of all the future forecasting and debate that the main event boasts. The most prominent line of thought on Jones vs. Miocic is what happens beyond the fight. Whereas, with Oliveira and Chandler, what’s next doesn’t feel important — it’s about what’s going to happen for a maximum allotted time of 25 minutes when the lights go down at The Garden.
So many people have said that Chandler has lost the fight with Conor McGregor, but I think he’s still in the sweepstakes no matter what happens against “Do Bronx.” I think it would be disingenuous to say either is fighting for a shot at the champion with both coming into this off losses. Yet, that’s where the beauty of it lies, it’s just two wild men fighting like lunatics for as long as it lasts. I’ll take that all day, every day and twice on Sunday.
Chuck: Agree. I heard the Boys In The Back saying that it was a noble (yet ultimately comical) gesture for the UFC to make the fight five rounds, because neither man is stingy. They just need a round or two, and they’re good. Somebody will go down in this fight, and that’s just the violent truth.
Of the two principles, I will say that Oliveira — as the younger fighter here — harnesses ideas of one day holding that belt again. He likes the way it brings out his eyes when he smiles. In that way, I think if he beats Chandler a second time he should be elevated to a title eliminator type of situation, but it’s going to be tough to crack back in there if the next title fight is between Arman Tsarukyan and Islam Makhachev (given that he lost to both).
For Chandler? This might be a gateway fight back to McGregor, who can’t be hanging out in Irish courtrooms and bare-knuckle undergrounds forever, Petesy.
Also, one little factoid of note — Chandler loves fighting in the Big Apple, but Madison Square Garden hasn’t been good to him over the years. He is 0-3 there, going back to that big upset loss against Brent Primus in Bellator. I give him credit for returning to his own personal house of horrors with nary an ounce of superstition or apprehension.
4. Screw it, does Mike Tyson have a realistic chance of beating Jake Paul?
Petesy: Be careful, Chuck, this question is bait. After all the crazy things I’ve seen in various combat sports, it would be stupid of me to say that there is no chance that Mike Tyson, the most feared knockout artist of his generation, can beat Jake Paul.
However, I think the chances of it happening are slim at best. Tyson looks to be in incredible shape, there’s no doubt about that. Yet, based on what I’m seeing on social media, I think I’m in the minority that wasn’t blown away by what we saw at the open workouts Tuesday night.
My overriding feeling is that we’re about to watch a near 60-year-old man, who was forced from their initial date with a stomach ulcer, fight a much younger man who has been competing regularly over the past five years.
I’m going to be watching this one through my fingers, Chuck. I’m not going to lie to you, I think this is going to be a tough night at the office for Tyson and potentially millions of his nostalgic fans tuning in across the globe.
Again, the question is bait, but you aren’t really thinking he’s winning this one, right?
Chuck: It’s been interesting to behold the wildly different attitudes heading into this fight. For those of us who’ve been around the fight game enough to know the stark realities of a 58-year-old man attempting to come back after two decades, the portends are stacking up high enough to create shadows over the entire Metroplex.
The experienced mind says Tyson will get knocked out, and that we’ll all feel slimy afterward.
But the Tyson brand of nostalgia is unique. If you were around in the mid-to-late 1980s, he was the most terrifying human being on the planet, and those first impressions never quite go away. In fact, his legend grew like he was a pigeon-loving Paul Bunyan. The casual fans I’ve come into contact with keep saying things like, “Why is Tyson +200? He is going to murder that guy!” and “Can Jake Paul even make it to the second round?” They see Iron Mike as they did when he was the tyranny of mankind 40 years ago, tearing through hapless contenders like they were human piñatas.
Can he beat Paul? Sure, if Paul leaves his chin out there and Tyson connects, that’s all she wrote. In that reality, maybe little birds will swirl around Paul’s head during the 10-count. But realistically, I’m with you. The dream is over, and we’ll be sad when he (and the rest of us) wake up.
BONUS QUESTION: With Tyson and Jones fighting on the same weekend, who has the more impressive résumé as a heavyweight?
Chuck: It’s Jones by a mile, Petesy. That win over Ciryl Gane was enough to erase a half-decade worth of knockouts from Iron Mike Tyson, Sports Illustrated covers, a pop culture takeover like we’d never seen before, endless rap homages and comparisons to Muhammad Ali that continue to this day.
Of course, I kid.
Now, if this is asking who has had the better overall combat career in general, it gets a little trickier. I’d still lean Tyson, given that he entered a game that was already 100 years old and broke records like they were nothing more than eggshells under his feet. Jones has given us our first superpower in MMA, it’s true, but nowhere near Tyson in either regard.
Petesy: Again, the bait! As you said, Tyson was the undisputed heavyweight champion for nearly three years! Jones has had one fight as a heavyweight. We have seen two minutes of Jones compete as a heavyweight. Who is asking these damn questions?
Chuck: Sorry … thought it’d be fun.
Petesy: You’re a sly one! Jones may be the heavyweight champion of the UFC, but as Aspinall has so rightfully put it, it feels as though Jones and Miocic are competing for the “most disputed” title at MSG. It is never a good sign when there is a title fight happening and one of the main topics of conversation on fight week is focused on the guy that isn’t fighting, in this case Aspinall.
It’s a no contest. Tyson’s résumé by furious first-round knockout over Jones’.
