Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic – two greats of the game, but who gets the better of the other on November 16? Well, looking at their track records, most would back the undisputed heavyweight champion to cross the finish line, but UFC legend Chael Sonnen seems reluctant to sign Miocic off. ‘The American Gangster’ believes that Miocic might have an advantage, heading into the legacy bout in Madison Square Garden.

We are finally getting the fight that’s been in the making since early 2023, and Chael Sonnen, along with Daniel Cormier, analyzed what fans can expect at UFC 309. Given that so many fans are bidding on Jones to win, and understandably so. The years of toil and a comprehensive record, except for the disqualification loss, ‘Bones’ has showcased how much of a threat he can be when he made a triumphant jump to the heavyweight division and made quick work of Ciryl Gane. However, Sonnen believes Jones, this time, will be outsized.

Stipe Miocic will be heavier than his usual size against Jon Jones

“If you ask me, ‘Chael, do you think that Jon Jones can outbox, outstrike… Do you think he has the power to knock out Stipe?’ I would tell you no,” Chael Sonnen started off his analysis of the UFC 309 main event on the ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ show, indicating how tough things could go for Jon Jones. When ‘Bones’ made his heavyweight debut, he weighed in at 248 pounds during the weigh-ins, and that was enough for him to get the better of his opponent in the first round. That’s a tidbit more than what Stipe Miocic used to weigh, as he normally weighed around 230 to 240 pounds for his UFC fights. But that’s going to change.

‘The American Gangster’ mentioned that the only person to knock Stipe Miocic out, Francis Ngannou, also proved his power against Tyson Fury, when he knocked the ‘Gypsy King’ down. It was one of the only seven times in the former boxing heavyweight champ’s career. Hence, Sonnen doesn’t believe that Jon Jones can replicate the same level of power against Miocic. “A lot of people would disagree with that because they’ve seen Stipe fall down, but I got to remind them [that] he fell down against a guy that put Tyson Fury down. I mean, not for nothing. Stipe is finally the bigger man,” the UFC legend further stated.

In addition to that, before Francis Ngannou departed from the UFC, he was supposed to go one-on-one for a third and final time against Stipe Miocic, which unfortunately didn’t come to fruition. However, the UFC’s resident firefight did not stop training for Jon Jones in the same way he did for Ngannou, building a bigger frame than usual through the course of his training camps. “I don’t think he’s gonna get out-powered. I think this extra weight that Stipe added because he thought he was going into a trilogy against Francis… Nobody is talking about when you see Stipe on the scale in a week and a day from right now, he’s going to be 17 pounds bigger than the last time you saw him on a scale.”

There’s may some truth to what Chael Sonnen has claimed about Stipe Miocic having an edge over Jon Jones because the former 2-time champion felt pretty confident about his chances of turning ‘Bones’s lights out.

Miocic wants to knock out the undisputed champion

Maybe he hasn’t won the BMF title, but Stipe Miocic has done possibly everything that a UFC fighter can, or even better. He captured divisional gold twice, and that is more than what 90 percent of all fighters can say. But grabbing a win over Jon Jones and handing him his first clean loss would be no small feat. Just like people who talk about Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali getting beat, they might also talk about the day Jones met his match and lost. With that in mind, Miocic plans to show Jones his power and possibly make him eat the canvas.

“I believe I’m the toughest matchup for Jones, and I know this fight will end in a KO,” Stipe Miocic told ‘MMA Fighting’. Similarly, Hall of Famer and UFC commentator Michael Bisping also backed Miocic to win by knockout if he gets riled up inside the Octagon because most people are counting him out. ” I think that is going to be his mindset, that he’s been overlooked and he’s been forgotten… he’s going to come in angry and very motivated… I think he’s going to walk Jon Jones down,” Bisping told ‘SunSport.’

Looking at all those views, analyses, and predictions, do you think Stipe Miocic will beat Jon Jones? Drop your comments below.