Jon Jones will defend his UFC heavyweight title against former titleholder Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309, which will take place on November 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

UFC President Dana White revealed the details in an interview with Complex on Saturday.

“Jon Jones will fight (Stipe Miocic) in November at Madison Square Garden,” White said. “And then, if he or Stipe wins, we’ll see what happens next.”

The fight between the most decorated light heavyweight and heavyweight was originally scheduled for the UFC’s annual trip to New York in 2023. However, Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle that required surgery, forcing him to abandon the fight and undergo a long rehabilitation period.

Jones is now fully recovered and will face Miocic for the first time in 20 months. The former two-time champion is considered the greatest heavyweight in UFC history and has defended his heavyweight title four times.

But Jones’ time off is nothing compared to that of Miocic, who hasn’t fought since being stopped by Francis Ngannou in March 2021. Miocic, 42, hasn’t won a fight since successfully defending his title against Daniel Cormier in August 2020.

Nevertheless, the 37-year-old Jones remained true to his desire to face Miocic (20-4), even though Tom Aspinall is the current interim heavyweight world champion.

Because he has been out of the sport for so long, there have been questions about Miocic’s future regardless of the outcome. White said he believes Miocic will retire whether he wins or loses.

“Do I think Stipe is going to retire? Yes,” White said. “I think he will, but you never know.”

Jones (27-1, 1 NC) won the heavyweight title after defeating Ciryl Gane by first-round submission in his heavyweight debut in March 2023. Before winning the belt, he dominated the light heavyweight division, recording a record-breaking 11 successful title defenses.

Jones is also nearing the end of his boxing career, but White said he believes Jones will accept a unification fight with Aspinall if he defeats Miocic.

A fight between Jones and Aspinall is one of the biggest that can happen in the UFC. Aspinall has a record of 8-1 in the UFC, with all eight of his wins coming by knockout or submission and no fight lasting longer than 6.5 minutes. His only loss came when he injured his knee just seconds into his fight against Curtis Blaydes. The two met again in July and Aspinall needed just 60 seconds to stop Blaydes.

Aspinall challenged Jones to a fight and Jones scoffed at the idea of ​​having to face him, but White said he believed Jones was ready for the challenge.

White said: “I know for a fact that if Jon Jones wins this fight, and with all the talk that’s out there, there’s no way he’s not going to fight Aspinall.”