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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic are preparing to meet in the UFC 309 main event but there’s almost as much curiosity surrounding what happens afterwards as there is what’s going to happen in the fight.

There are longstanding rumors that both competitors might call it a career and it’s tough to fault that logic. At 42, Miocic doesn’t have age on his side while Jones isn’t far behind at 37. The two have accomplished more in their illustrious careers than most fighters could ever dream of.

While it’s highly unlikely any decision on retirement is announced prior to the event, Jones’ longtime coach Brandon Gibson is treating the current training camp like this is the last time he makes the walk with the reigning UFC heavyweight champion.

“Whenever Jon’s ready [to retire], I’m right there with him,” Gibson told MMA Fighting. “I’m approaching this one like it’s our last go, it’s our last rodeo.”

Just because the upcoming fight against Miocic might be the final time Jones appears in the UFC doesn’t mean he’s already got one foot out the door. Gibson insists when it comes to Jones’ actual skills and preparation, he’s never been sharper.

Jones has already accomplished so much in the sport, with fighters, fans, and pundits regularly discussing him as the greatest of all time, so there aren’t many more accolades that he could add to his résumé. Beating Miocic, the longest-reigning heavyweight champion in UFC history and also the record-holder for most defenses of that title (3), is definitely a checkmark that Jones wants before calling it a career, but Gibson acknowledges there has to be a finish line for every athlete at some point.

“I think physically, mentally, he could go in there and have five or six more great performances,” Gibson said. “There’s nothing left for Jon to prove. I think he really wants this fight with Stipe. I think this fight will help solidify Jon’s status as that great heavyweight champion but it’s not something we talk about every night at the gym. We’re definitely all eyes on Nov. 16. But each time I go to a practice, I’m approaching it as this is my last camp. I’m giving it my all.

“If we get one more after this, if we get two more, that would be a great blessing. I’m also ready to see Jon hang it up. Put the belt up. I’d prefer them to walk away obviously earlier than later. Out of all the fighters, Jon deserves to walk away any time he wants. I’m always going to support those guys.”

A huge part of the narrative leading up to UFC 309 is that Jones is facing an easier opponent in Miocic, as opposed to throwing down with Tom Aspinall. The interim heavyweight champion sports an 8-1 record in the UFC with all but one of his wins ending by first round knockout or submission and he has already defended his title once in Jones’ absence.

As much respect as Gibson maintains for Aspinall or any other potential opponent for Jones, he knows that there’s always going to be another challenge awaiting any champion in the sport. A couple of years ago Jones fighting Francis Ngannou was all anybody could talk about and now that attention has shifted dramatically towards Aspinall.

“There’s always going to be a next No. 1 contender,” Gibson said. “There’s never going to be a perfect time to walk out. Somebody will always say ‘but you didn’t fight that guy.’ To me, it doesn’t matter.

“Ten years from now we’ll have all the generational talks. How would [Muhammad] Ali have done against [Mike] Tyson? How would a Tyson done against Tyson Fury? There’s always going to be those types of discussions that will come down the road, too. There’s always a lot of what ifs in this game but what I do know is Nov. 16 we’ll be standing across the cage, across the octagon from Stipe and his great team. That’s what we’re focused on.”

By the time Jones competes on Nov. 16, he’ll be over 20 months removed from his most recent appearance in the UFC when he dispatched Ciryl Gane in the first round to claim the vacant heavyweight title. While he had to take time off to recover from a torn pectoral muscle, which is why the Miocic fight was pushed back from 2023 to 2024, Jones has continued to adapt his body to become the best heavyweight possible.

As impressive as his heavyweight debut was, Gibson expects even better out of Jones when he competes in the division for the second time against Miocic.

“He is getting stronger, faster, more skilled at heavyweight,” Gibson said. “Early on, to make that jump from light heavyweight, to get up to heavyweight was putting on a lot of size, a lot of mass. Now his body has gotten very accustomed to that size. You saw his recent photo how lean he’s getting for heavyweight and then we’ve just assembled this super team of training partners and coaches.

“Jon’s the greatest student in the game as well so he’s always learning. I think he’s already the most dangerous heavyweight there is and now you add in this plethora of new tools, oh it’s just terrifying. He would be a nightmare to coach against because there’s no path to victory against Jon Jones.”

If all goes well at UFC 309 and Jones beats Miocic to add that name to his résumé, he may decide right then and there to lay down his gloves and retire or perhaps he’ll call out Aspinall for a champion versus champion fight.

No matter what, Gibson plans to support the decision because he believes if anyone has earned the right to go out on his terms, it’s Jones.

“Jon’s been sacrificing his body for this game for a long time,” Gibson said. “He’s earned it.”

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UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Think you can figure out which UFC fighter we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out.

We’re back for another day of the SB Nation UFC in-5 daily trivia game, and we’re switching to a system of a new article each day for the game.

We tried using a single article for the game, updated with the latest game each day, but it was creating a bit of an unwieldy experience in the comments. So, we’ll have the current day’s game plus the previous three days in each new article. That way, you can catch up if you miss a day.

Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game!

What we need from you

1. Play the game
2. Share your result in the comments and on social media
3. Provide feedback (Google Form or in comments below)

Today’s UFC in-5 game

Saturday’s UFC in-5 game

Friday’s UFC in-5 game

Thursday’s UFC in-5 game

The goal of the game is to guess the correct random UFC fighter player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED FIGHTERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. It will be a mix of well-known players and some “that guys” that we haven’t thought of in some time. The game will appear in slot #3 of the MMA Fighting layout each morning, with occasional movement later in the day.

After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media.

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UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Brandon Moreno returned to form, and then some as he delivered a one-sided performance in the main event of UFC Edmonton.

The two-time UFC flyweight champ dominated Amir Albazi from bell-to-bell over five rounds to pick up a unanimous decision win, and snap a two-fight skid in the process.

Moreno swept two of the judges’ scorecards, while the third judge scored it 49-46 for “The Assassin Baby.”

The action started at a methodical pace with both fighters picking their shots. Moreno landed a big right hand halfway through that was the most significant strike of the opening round. The counter combinations began to land for Moreno as the round went on, along with a brutal leg kick that put Albazi to a knee. A short uppercut from Moreno closed out the stanza.

Moreno continued to pepper Albazi on the feet, but Albazi landed a perfectly timed takedown only for the former champ to shrug it off immediately and get back to work on the feet. Albazi landed a sneaky left hook to start Round 3, but Moreno opened up a cut under the right eye of Albazi seconds later. While Albazi showed a little improvement in the third, the momentum continued on the feet for Moreno, as he built a big lead heading into the championship rounds.

The dominance of Moreno continued through the fourth round, and after an Albazi eye poke to Moreno stopped the action briefly in the fifth. After a near takedown and a scramble, Moreno hurt Albazi with a huge punch. Albazi, bloodied and battered, was able to survive to the final horn, and the final 25 seconds was a slugfest that Moreno got the best of.

With the win, Moreno surpassed Demetrious Johnson for the most significant strikes landed in UFC flyweight history with over 1,100.

Albazi suffers his first UFC loss in his return to action for the first time since June 2023.

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Bonus Report
| BJPenn.com

Last night (Sat., Nov. 2, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for UFC Edmonton. It’s a real shame that Derrick Lewis was forced to withdraw at the last-second, because this was really shaping up to be a better live card than usual. With the loss of “The Black Beast,” it felt a whole lot more like the typical Apex affair. Seriously, what the heck was Caio Machado vs. Brendson Ribeiro doing on the main card? Awful.

Regardless, let’s take a look back over at UFC Edmonton’s best performances and techniques:

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

The Champ Is Back

Brandon Moreno is an incredible fighter and multiple-time champion, but he is known for inconsistency as well. “Assassin Baby” will look incredibly different in back-to-back performances, sometimes to his own detriment. His last showing vs. Brandon Royval was a competitive fight against a top contender, but by his previous standards, it was a sloppy showing that saw him overly reliant on a wide overhand.

Moreno admitted to needing a break after that loss … and it worked! His performance last night matched the best of his championship wins. His timing was sharp, his boxing combinations were lovely, and his ability to mix up his attacks to various targets was very effective. Amir Albazi is quite tough, but the hard-hitting wrestler couldn’t get anything going and was largely relegated to punching bag status.

I loved the variety of Moreno’s offense. His jab is deceptively long, and he expanded upon that effectiveness by doubling and tripling the strike. He hunted for the left high kick and found it on a couple occasions, but he also mixed chopping low kicks to both legs. Moreno’s overhand and left hook complimented one another beautifully, and yet he still managed to sneak lead hand uppercuts into his attack as well. There were lunging elbows, jumping kicks, and even a Rolling Thunder.

It’s good to have Moreno back in the title mix — Flyweight needs him. If he needs six months between fights to have this level of performance consistently, that’s a trade I would happily make!

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Blanchfield Gets It Done

I’ll confess that I didn’t find Erin Blanchfield vs. Rose Namajunas particularly compelling or interesting. For two rounds, Namajunas was able to cleanly pick apart Blanchfield, whose same flaws from the Manon Fiorot fight remained apparent. By the third, however, youth, pressure, and wrestling were starting to take effect. Namajunas’ footwork slowed, Blanchfield started landing more, and suddenly the takedown didn’t seem so impossible.

Good for “Cold Blooded.” She picked up the best win of her career by wanting it more — a perfectly respectable way to defeat a former champion. The Alexa Grasso callout afterward was perfect as well, and a win would push her right back into title contention.

Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

Jasudavicius Dominates On The Floor

Jasmine Jasudavicius might have the best top game at 125-pounds. Her kickboxing is still a little stiff — which likely cost her the first round opposite Ariane Lipski da Silva — but once the fight hits the floor, she’s in complete control. The combination of above-average chain wrestling and such a nasty top game is a winning one, resulting in five victories in her last six bouts.

What stands out about Jasudavicius’ top work is her activity and ability to blend strikes and submissions. While advancing position, she’s constantly digging punches and landing bludgeoning elbows. Da Silva was forced to cover up constantly just to survive, which ultimately opened up the very textbook d’arce finish.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Stoltzfus Stuns The Crowd

Germany’s Dustin Stoltzfus started his UFC career with an 0-3 run that saw him finished twice. He may have showed a decent mix of skills in those defeats, but it was something of a surprise when he scored a fourth chance. He finally scored a UFC win via decision in his fourth chance, but his fifth trip to the Octagon ended in a 19-second KO loss.

That’s quite a few defeats with little success. For some reason, however, UFC brass saw something in Stoltzfus and opted to keep him around, and guess what? He’s gotten better! Stoltzfus has won two of his last three, and better yet, each contest was entertaining and resulted in a finish.

His work last night against Canada’s Marc-Andre Barriault may be his best yet. An early low kick knockdown gained him top position, and he spent most of the round hunting submissions against the striker. When Barriault scrambled to his feet with 40 seconds remaining in the first, brawling seemed like a bad idea … until Barriault hit the floor fully unconscious!

Is Stoltzfus suddenly a contender? Certainly not. He deserves credit, however, for continually refining his game, showing up in great shape, and finally earning a bit of job security. For the fans, Stoltzfus can be trusted to put on a scrap … for better or worse.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Year Of The Devil

Youssef Zalal isn’t in the running with Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria for “Fighter of the Year,” but “The Moroccan Devil” deserves some love. Zalal’s second UFC stint began in March, and he’s been nothing short of spectacular! Opposite the very skilled Jack Shore, Zalal scored his third straight submission finish since rejoining the roster.

It was a fun fight for as long as it lasted. Shore started strong with snappy combinations, but Zalal evened up the first round with a takedown and good control. They continued to exchange into the second when Zalal timed a PERFECT counter knee, catching Shore as he changed levels. That signature strike floored Shore, opening up an arm triangle choke finish.

It’s just more great work from Zalal, who should serve as an inspiration for every young fighter that gets cut after a rough start with the promotion. At 28 years of age, he’s back and far better than ever, potentially looking at a ranked foe next.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Additional Thoughts

• Charles Jourdain defeats Victor Henry via second-round guillotine choke (highlights): This was a fun fight and better Bantamweight performance than I expected from “Air” Jourdain. Generally, when a fighter drops weight class after a couple losses that don’t really have anything to do with size, it’s hard to feel too confident. In this match up, however, he played the outside kickboxing role rather well, doing real damage while imposing his height and reach advantage. Henry started to find success in the second with his wrestling, but Jourdain baited him into a reshot and snatched up his neck — exactly how he strangled Ricardo Ramos! The style of guillotine Jourdain employs means that even though Henry was able to jump around the guard to theoretical safety, the Canadian could still crank on his neck and force the tap. Slick!

For complete UFC Edmonton results and play-by-play, click HERE!

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