With just 45 days to go until Jon Jones defends his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic, fans are buzzing with excitement—and a bit of concern for the competition! Jones recently shared a photo flaunting his impressive six-pack abs, showcasing that he’s looking “lean and mean” ahead of the showdown.
This has left many wondering what kind of trouble he’s going to bring to the octagon. As one of the greatest fighters of all time makes his highly anticipated return, it’s clear that he’s in peak condition and ready to prove why he still reigns supreme in the heavyweight division.
During his time at light heavyweight, the champion always maintained an extremely lean and muscular frame. However, for his move up to heavyweight, Jones took a lot of time off to put on some serious muscle as well as weight in general.
This time around however, Jones is bringing a whole new package to the fight, one that has left fans worried about not just Miocic but also the other heavyweights in the division.
One fan said, “It’s only over for the 50 year old Stipe.”
It’s only over for the 50 year old Stipe. pic.twitter.com/JFBwlxjyA2
— Talking Lizard (@Lizard69Talking) October 2, 2024
“For it to be game over for heavyweights he’d have to you know, fight them”– added another fan.
For it to be game over for heavyweights he’d have to you know, fight them
— (@WonderbreadMMA) October 3, 2024
“Damn! Jones looking lean and mean, instead of fat and funky!”– added a fan.
Damn! Jones looking lean and mean, instead of fat and funky!
— Mark (@Venny_X_Mark) October 3, 2024
Another fan said, “Oh shit this looks waay better than his dirty bulking.”
Oh shit this looks waay better than his dirty bulking
— KingSkelly (@InkItright) October 3, 2024
Meanwhile, as an extra backup for the fight, the UFC has secured the services of Tom Aspinall. However, former double champion, Daniel Cormier believes, if it came to it, neither Jones or Miocic would face him.
DC doubts Miocic or Jones’ willingness to face Aspinall
Daniel Cormier isn’t too thrilled about Aspinall being named the official backup for UFC 309. While he acknowledges that injuries or last-minute dropouts from Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic are possible, he doubts either fighter would actually want to take on the Brit on short notice.
On his YouTube channel, Cormier pointed out that just because Aspinall is the backup doesn’t mean he’ll get a fight if something goes wrong. “Which one of those guys is going to say, ‘OK, I’ll fight Tom Aspinall?”, he asked. DC recalled when Sergei Pavlovich was the backup for their last scheduled fight, and things didn’t pan out for him either.
Cormier hopes he’s wrong because he genuinely wants to see Jones face Aspinall eventually, as he believes it’s a generational class. Jones has already defeated at least two generations of fighters in his time in the UFC. But with Aspinall mauling opponents in under two rounds, Jones might have finally met his match.
