Early betting odds for Jones vs. Miocic PPV event

The next fight card on the UFC schedule takes place on November 16th when the promotion heads to Madison Square Garden in New York City for UFC 309. UFC 309 will feature a title fight between current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former two-time champion UFC heavyweight boss Stipe Miocic. The evening's co-main event is a rematch between former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and three-time Bellator titleholder Michael Chandler. Ahead of these two matchups, UFC middleweight contender Bo Nickal looks to continue his climb up the rankings against Paul Craig.

The UFC 309 PPV fight card will stream on ESPN+ following the prelims on ESPNews and the early prelims on ESPN+.

UFC 309 Main Event: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

Jon Jones (27-1-0-1) captured the vacant UFC heavyweight crown with a first-round submission win over Ciryl Gane in March 2023. The UFC heavyweight title remained vacant when Francis Ngannou left the promotion as a free agent to sign with the PFL in early 2023.

The UFC originally booked Jones vs. Miocic for UFC 295. UFC CEO Dana White announced this fight in July 2023, saying at the time: “This is the fight Jon Jones wanted.” It's the fight Stipe wanted. It’s a legacy fight for both guys.”

The fight between Jones and Miocic fell through when Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle in training. With Jones off the card, the UFC opted for an interim title fight between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich. Aspinall won that fight and the interim title with a knockout in 69 seconds.

Miocic (20-4) has not entered the Octagon since losing the title to Ngannou by knockout in March 2021.

With Jones recovering from chest and shoulder surgery, that contest is getting closer and closer. Barring a last-minute injury or illness, it looks like the Jones-Miocic fight at UFC 309 will go ahead as planned.

The winner of the Jones vs. Miocic matchup could face interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in his next outing. However, there have been rumors that no matter who leaves Madison Square Garden with the title, the champion will exit with the belt in hand.

UFC 309 Co-Main Event: Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler 2

Charles Oliveira (34-10-0-1) has been fighting with the UFC since 2010. He won the vacant lightweight title with his victory over Chandler and defended the title once by defeating Dustin Poirier. He was scheduled to face Justin Gaethje in his second title defense, but Oliveira missed weight for that fight, which he won by submission, and lost the title on the scales.

Oliveira had a chance to regain the belt in October 2022, but Islam Makhachev submitted him and claimed the vacant belt. Since that loss, Oliveira is 1-1, defeating Beneil Dariush by TKO in June 2023 and losing via split decision to Arman Tsarukyan in April of this year.

Oliveira is the No. 2 fighter in the official UFC lightweight rankings.

Michael Chandler (23-8) had been waiting for a duel with Conor McGregor. After a long delay, this fight was booked for UFC 303 in June. However, a broken toe during training camp prevented McGregor from competing.

Chandler last fought in November 2022 when he lost to former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier. Chandler signed with the UFC as a free agent in 2020. He made his UC debut in January 2021 with a knockout win over Dan Hooker.

Oliveira and Chandler met in the main event of UFC 262 in May 2021. Oliveira won that contest by second-round TKO to capture the vacant UFC 155-pound title.

UFC 309: Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig

Bo Nickal (6-0), who received a UFC contract in 2022 after a fight on Jorge Masvidal's iKON FC card and two appearances on Dana White's Contender Series, is 3rd in the UFC with three submission wins :0. Nickal has never made it past the second round in any of his professional fights, and prior to his UFC 300 match against Cody Brundage, he had not gotten past the 2:54 mark of the first round.

Paul Craig (17-8-1) has been with the UFC since 2016. Things haven't been going well for Craig over the last two years. He is 1-4 in that time, with a TKO win over Andre Muniz and losses to Volkan Oezdemir, Johnny Walker, Brendan Allen and Caio Borralho. His last match was a knockout loss to Borralho in May.

Nickal has been a huge betting favorite in all of his UFC outings. In his promotional debut, Nickal was a -2500 favorite over Jamie Pickett. In his next fight against late substitute Val Woodburn, Nickal came into the game at -2200. In Nickal's last appearance he was the -1800 favorite over Brundage.

Nickal was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion and three-time Big Ten Conference champion for head coach Cael Sanderson and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Nickal placed second in the 2016 NCAA Finals, losing to Myles Martin of Ohio State. Nickal defeated Martin in the 2018 finals. Nickal had a career record of 131-5 at Penn State. In his final two years, he posted a 61-0 record.

UFC 309 Fight Card: Early Betting Odds

UFC 309 PPV card odds

Jon Jones (-700) vs. Stipe Miocic (+500)

Charles Oliveira (-240) vs. Michael Chandler (+205)

Viviane Araujo (+225) vs. Karine Silva (-265)

Bo Nickal (-1000) vs. Paul Craig (+600)

Chris Weidman (+155) vs. Eryk Anders (-180)

UFC 309 Preliminary Card Odds

Nikita Krylov (-175) vs. Azamat Murzakanov (+150)

Jonathan Martinez (+110) vs. Marcus McGhee (-130)

Jim Miller (-125) vs. Damon Jackson (+105)

UFC 309 Early Preliminary Card Odds

Mickey Gall (-105) vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (-115)

Bassil Hafez (+130) vs. Oban Elliot (-150)

Veronica Hardy -150) vs. Eduarda Moura (+130)

*Odds via BetOnline

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UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic opening betting odds

UFC 309: Opening Betting Odds – Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler

UFC 309 betting odds: Bo Nickal opens as the heavy favorite over Paul Craig