UFC 309: The fights that promise to be more interesting than the headliner
UFC 309 is set to be headlined in November by the fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, although that is certainly not the fight fans wanted.
The pair were originally due to meet at UFC 295 in November 2023, but an injury to Jones caused a postponement – which has been so lengthy that Miocic is now no longer one of the leading fighters in his division.
There is little doubt about Jones’ ability to defeat a 42-year-old Miocic and many would argue their long-awaited meeting should have instead been canceled to make way for Jones to fight interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
UFC 309 certainly threatens to underwhelm due to the likely one-sidedness of its main event, although some of the other fights on the card promise to be much more interesting.
Oliveira vs Chandler
Charles Oliveira will enter the Octagon for the second time in 2024 when he faces Michael Chandler in the c0-main event in November. The Brazilian is the favorite in betting UK at odds of -250 and the online betting tips suggest he could win via an early submission.
West Diablo Drive 📍#UFC pic.twitter.com/26jOmC7xdS
— Charles ‘DoBronxs’ Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) April 6, 2024
Oliveira will have to emphatically bounce back from his UFC 300 defeat to Arman Tsarukyan if he is to have any chance of earning a shot at reclaiming the lightweight belt in the future. His aim against Chandler will be to win, and to do so via an early stoppage, to show his determination to remain a key challenger at the peak of his division.
The former world champion’s poor performance in April offered a strong suggestion that his opponent, Tsarukyan, is the main threat to Islam Makhachev’s position as the divisional champion. Oliveira now has a huge amount of work to do to dispel that narrative and show his disappointing night in early 2024 was just a blip.
The co-main ultimately promises to be much more exciting than the night-ending Jones-Miocic event. One favorite in Oliveira will fight with his legacy on the line, while for the other in Jones, his legacy and reputation will be firmly imprinted on the sport regardless of the outcome.
Bo Nickal vs Paul Craig
Bo Nickal and Paul Craig are both far from huge names in the UFC, but their November meeting is set to be massive nevertheless.
The winner of the contest could make a huge step towards becoming a ranked fighter – Nickal will be the favorite to do so having ended all five of his UFC fights early so far.
The American is a strong wrestler who will look to take down Craig at every opportunity, which should make for an interesting dynamic considering the Scotsman has a strong ground game too.
🏴 @PaulCraig loves pulling off an upset!
Can ‘Bearjew’ do the same against Bo Nickal at #UFC309?! pic.twitter.com/ETzL6AR2Zw
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 21, 2024
Nickal will ultimately be hoping he can continue his run of momentum and become a mainstay in the UFC, while for Craig a win is essential, or he may not have a contract for much longer – having already lost four of his last five fights.
The two fights mentioned here are set to have a huge sense of jeopardy encapsulated within them, and there is also certainty that the winners will have a lot to gain. This makes for a stark contrast to the headline event, in which Jones will almost certainly coast to an – arguably meaningless – victory against a much inferior fighter.
