Jon Jones secured his UFC undisputed heavyweight title on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden, defeating Stipe Miocic with a third-round TKO in the main event of UFC 309. The victory marked another successful title defense for Jones, who currently holds the record for most UFC title wins.
The event sold out Madison Square Garden with 20,200 fans in attendance, making it the second highest-grossing event in the arena’s history. President-elect Donald Trump and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk were in the crowd, drawing more attention to the highly anticipated fight.
Jones controlled the fight from the start, using his reach and grappling to keep Miocic on the defensive. Miocic entered with a 20-4 record, one of the best UFC heavyweights in history, but struggled to land strikes against Jones.
The fight was called off in the third round after Jones landed a spinning backkick on Miocic, forcing the referee to intervene. Jones improved to 28-1, showing his dominance in the division.
The matchup was originally set to take place in November 2023, but Jones withdrew after sustaining a torn pectoral muscle. 42-year-old Miocic, who had not fought since 2021, announced his retirement from the sport in the Octagon after the loss.
“I’m done,” Miocic said. “I’m hanging them [gloves] up. I am retiring. Thank God.”
At 37-years-old, Jones delivered his first knockout win since 2018. He acknowledged Miocic as a challenge and expressed respect for his opponent in the Octagon upon receiving his belt.
“He is really, really good,” Jones said. “He is tough, durable. I was hitting him with some pretty decent shots, and he kept coming forward. It was like fighting against the Terminator. It is very discouraging to hit someone who is not reacting to it.”
Jones then described his approach to taking Miocic down, reiterating his opponent’s toughness.
“Everyone knows that Stipe Miocic isn’t the biggest heavyweight, but he always comes lean and he always comes in great cardio shape. I have watched him have wars with Daniel Cormier and a lot of guys, where they just rock ‘em, 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.”
At the end of his Octagon interview, Jones dismissed talk of retirement and addressed the anticipation of a potential fight with interim champion Tom Aspinall.
“I’ve decided that maybe I will not retire,” Jones said. “I have some conversations to have with Dana [White] and Hunter [Campbell], we have some negotiating to do. If everything goes right, maybe we will give you guys what you want to see.”
Before the fight, Jones was uninterested in facing Aspinall, focusing solely on Miocic. After Jones’ win, the matchup looks to be possible for the right price.
