Jones shakes Miocic's hand at weigh-in after Thursday snub

Jon Jones shook Stipe Miocic's hand following Thursday's snub in the final face-off before the pair's heavyweight title bout at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.

Jones, 37, refused to shake American compatriot Miocic's hand at Thursday's news conference but accepted the gesture in front of cheering fans at the weigh-ins.

Defending champion Jones weighed 237.6lb (16 st 13lb), 11lb lighter than 42-year-old Miocic.

Introduced by UFC commentator Joe Rogan as the "Goat", Jones said: "Tomorrow is an awesome opportunity to display this gift god has given me. I'm super excited, I feel great. And still."

The fighters weighed in on the same scales which were used for boxing icon Muhammad Ali's famous bout with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden in 1974.

The scales were brought out of a museum especially for the event, which the UFC have described as hosting the biggest heavyweight bout in the promotion's history.

Jones remained after the weigh-ins - the only fighter to do so - as he posed for photos, waved to the crowd and jokingly shadowboxed with fans on stage.

Miocic left briskly after saying: "It's about time finally. And new."

There was no sign of interim champion and back-up fighter Tom Aspinall, who revealed on Friday he had been banned from Thursday's news conference.

Aspinall has dominated the narrative during fight week, with an increasingly irked Jones repeating to the media he will not fight the Briton because "it does nothing for my legacy".

Aspinall, 31, weighed in heavier than Jones and Miocic at 254.8lb (18st 2lb) on Friday morning.

Aspinall stepped in at 17 days' notice to beat Russia's Sergei Pavlovich for the interim title one year ago after injury forced Jones out of his original bout with Miocic.

But rather than schedule a unification title bout, Jones was rebooked against 42-year-old Miocic.

Jones, who at 23 became the youngest UFC champion in the company's history, is aiming to make the first defence of his heavyweight title after beating Ciryl Gane for the belt in 2023.

A former light-heavyweight title holder, Jones holds the record for championship fight wins (15) and has lost just once in 29 fights - a disqualification against Matt Hamill in 2009.

Miocic, meanwhile, who has not fought since being knocked out by Francis Ngannou in 2021, is aiming to become the UFC's first three-time heavyweight champion.

The main event is not as enticing as it was around five years ago, when Jones first hinted at a move up to heavyweight to face Miocic, but it is still a fascinating contest.

At 37, Jones is the favourite to win with question marks looming over whether Miocic's powers have waned at the age of 42.

What will happen in the aftermath of the bout is just as intriguing as how the fight itself will play out.

Both fighters have hinted at retirement, although Jones has indicated he would stick around for a super fight with light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira should he be victorious.

UFC president Dana White, however, has said the winner must face Aspinall - the man Jones has repeatedly said he is not willing to fight.

Aspinall has tried to entice Jones into unification bout, much to the American's annoyance, but would the UFC be able to make the fight happen?

The curveball is if Miocic wins, inflicting Jones' first defeat in 15 years and becoming a three-time UFC heavyweight champion.

Would Miocic continue with his plans to retire, therefore elevating Aspinall to undisputed champion, or would he be enticed into a unification bout with the Briton?

These questions have been looming over the UFC's heavyweight division for over a year now after Aspinall won the interim title, but in just one day we will finally have the answers.