American mixed martial artist Jon Jones defeated Stipe Miocic to retain his undisputed UFC heavyweight title at UFC 309 on Saturday night in a blockbuster fight at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Jones, who enjoyed the first title defence of his current belt, claimed a knockout win in the third round as his spinning back kick was too much for Miocic to handle.
The 37-year-old Jones clinched a record-extending 16th title fight victory to improve his UFC record to 28-1-0, further placing himself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in history.
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME 🏆🐐@JonnyBones defeats Stipe Miocic by KO to remain the UFC Heavyweight Champion of the World!
[ #UFC309 | B2YB @JoseCuervo ] pic.twitter.com/CO1cWI172M
— UFC (@ufc) November 17, 2024
The much-talked event had a number of big guns seated octagon-side as president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, tech billionaire and CEO of X Elon Musk, musician Kid Rock, and UFC President Dana White were all in attendance.
Away from the praise Trump received from the fans inside the Garden who were chanting “USA,” the bout inside the octagon started with Miocic on the front foot as the 42-year-old connected with a couple of shots. However, Jon Jones reacted as expected, securing a takedown halfway through the first round before delivering some elbow blows with Miocic on the mat.
Jones’ elbows caused some damage to his compatriot as they connected strongly with his head, with the last one tearing open Miocic’s right cheek.
In the second round, which was slow for the most part, both fighters remained on their feet as Miocic took some kicks and knees from Jones before landing some single shots of his own.
The decisive third round provided all the drama the second round didn’t, and although Miocic caught Jones with an uppercut, the latter responded with a painful right cross.
Miocic caught Jones again with another uppercut, forcing the champion to retreat, but Jones would respond with a devastating spinning back kick to his opponent’s ribs. The kick caused the damage, and as Miocic hit the deck, Jones jumped in to finish the fight off, but referee Herb Dean called the fight off.
After the fight, Jones praised Miocic for his toughness, adding that their game plan for the fight worked.
“He’s really, really good. He’s really tough, he’s really durable,” Jones told TNT Sports. “I was hitting him with some decent shots and he kept coming forward.
“Very, very discouraging to hit somebody that’s not reacting to it. But that body shot, no matter how tough you are, the liver’s the liver.
“Everyone knows that Stipe Miocic isn’t the biggest heavyweight but he always comes lean.
“He always comes in great shape cardio shape. I watched him have wars with Daniel Cormier and a lot of guys where they just rock ‘n’ sock em.
“He doesn’t react much to getting punched in the face. So our plan was to try and attack the body a little bit more. I was hoping to get him out in the first round but he hung in there.”
Meanwhile, former two-time heavyweight champion Miocic, who owns the UFC record for most heavyweight title defences (four), confirmed his retirement after his defeat.
“It sucked I lost. I knew he was one of the best of all time. Came strong. I felt good. I was blocking and he caught me in the ribs,” said Miocic.
“I’m done. I’m hanging them up. I’m retiring, thank God.”
Forever a champion and legend.
Congrats on an incredible career, @StipeMiocic 👏 pic.twitter.com/86Kh1k3fFE
— UFC (@ufc) November 17, 2024
