Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic finally have a date and location, though the details of the fight shouldn’t come as a surprise. All signs pointed toward a November showdown between Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) and Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at Madison Square Garden and on Saturday the promotion made it official. The heavyweight title fight will headline UFC 309 on Nov. 16 in New York.

UFC CEO Dana White announced the title fight to Complex on Friday. UFC broadcast partner ESPN also shared the news on Saturday.

Jones and Miocic have been aligned for well over a year, as the two were scheduled to compete at UFC 295 in November. The fight was canceled after Jones tore his pectoral muscle and required surgery. Miocic, with the UFC’s backing, elected to wait for the Jones matchup.

In place of the undisputed title fight, the UFC booked Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich for an interim title. Aspinall finished Spivac with strikes in the first round, then defended the title in July vs. Curtis Blaydes, who he finished with strikes in exactly one minute.

UFC CEO Dana White firmly stood by the concurrent title reigns, holding out for the Jones vs. Miocic booking despite inactivity from both fighters.

Jones has not competed since he won the vacant heavyweight title vs. Ciryl Gane in March 2023. The fight was his first since February 2020. As for Miocic, he hasn’t competed since he lost the title to Francis Ngannou in March 2021.

With the addition, the UFC 309 fight card includes:

The fight between the most decorated light heavyweight and heavyweight, respectively, was originally set for the UFC's annual trip to New York in 2023. However, Jones suffered a torn pectoral that required surgery, forcing him out of the fight and into a long rehabilitation.

Now fully healed, Jones will compete for the first time in 20 months against Miocic, a former two-time champion who has been widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, with a record four heavyweight title defenses.

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

Nevertheless, Jones, 37, has been steadfast in his desire to face Miocic (20-4) despite Tom Aspinall being the current interim heavyweight champion.

With so much time away from the sport, there have been questions regarding Miocic's future, regardless of the outcome. White said he believes Miocic will call it a career, win or lose.

"Do I think Stipe will retire? I do," White said. "I do 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 March 2023 in his heavyweight debut. Before winning the belt, he dominated the light heavyweight division, logging a record-setting 11 successful title defenses.

Jones is also heading toward the end of his fighting career. However, White said he believes Jones will accept a unification fight with Aspinall should he beat Miocic.

A fight between Jones and Aspinall is one of the biggest that can be made in the UFC. Aspinall is 8-1 in the UFC, with all eight of his wins coming by knockout or submission and no fight lasting longer than 6½ minutes. His only loss was when he injured his knee just seconds into his fight with Curtis Blaydes. The two met again in July with Aspinall needing only 60 seconds to stop Blaydes.

Aspinall has called out Jones for a fight, with Jones scoffing at the notion that he needs to face him. But White said he thinksJones will be ready for the challenge.

Said White: "I know for a fact that if Jon Jones wins this fight, and with all this talk that's out there, there's no way in hell he's not fighting Aspinall."

UFC president Dana White announced Saturday during an interview with Complex Sports that UFC heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones will face Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 16.

It's official:@danawhite tells us @JonnyBones will return to the octagon at Madison Square Garden vs. @stipemiocic in November 😳 pic.twitter.com/CwaI14i2bc

Jones and Miocic will headline a stacked card that also includes a lightweight bout between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira that was announced Friday.

While Jones and Miocic were originally scheduled to clash at UFC 295 in November 2023, the fight had to be postponed after Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle during training.

The 37-year-old Jones is one of the most dominant fighters in MMA history, posting a career record of 27-1 with one no-contest.

He dominated UFC's light heavyweight division, winning it twice and successfully defending it 11 times from 2011 to 2020, but he sought a new challenge in the form of moving up to heavyweight.

At UFC 285 last year, Jones competed in his first fight after a three-year absence, beating Ciryl Gane to win the vacant UFC heavyweight title.

With Jones back in the fold, Miocic announced his intention to return to the Octagon after having last fought at UFC 260 in 2021.

The 42-year-old Miocic is arguably the best heavyweight in UFC history, posting a 20-4 record with 15 knockouts and holding the UFC heavyweight title on two occasions.

Miocic beat big names such as Alistair Overeem, Francis Ngannou and Daniel Cormier, although he fell to Ngannou by second-round knockout in his most recent fight.

Given where they stand in UFC history, Jones vs. Miocic is a true dream fight, as the result could either cement Jones' status as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time or erase any doubt about Miocic being the king of the heavyweight division.

During Jones' recent absence, Tom Aspinall beat Sergei Pavlovich for the interim UFC heavyweight title and successfully defended it against Curtis Blaydes.

White expressed his belief that if Jones beats Miocic in November, it will lead to a huge unification bout between Jones and Aspinall.

However, to get to that point, Jones will have to take down a UFC legend in Miocic who is one of the few fighters who can match him in terms of height and length, as they are both 6'4" with a reach of over 80 inches.