UFC 309: Jon Jones defends his heavyweight title with TKO of Stipe Miocic
Heavyweight champion Jon Jones exults in his victory at UFC 309 at MSG on Saturday. Credit: Jeffrey Basinger
And still.
Still the heavyweight champion. Still unbeaten by any opponent inside the octagon. Still the best to ever do it.
Jon Jones solidified all of that when he knocked out Stipe Miocic in the third round at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Jones dominated Miocic the entire fight, ending it with a spinning heel kick that landed near Miocic’s liver and sent him collapsing to the canvas. Jones swarmed on the fallen former heavyweight champion and landed several strikes before referee Herb Dean stopped the bout at the 4:29 mark.
“He’s really really good. He’s really tough. He’s really durable,” Jones said of Miocic. “It’s like fighting against the Terminator. But that body shot. No matter how tough you are, the liver is the liver.”
Jones (28-1,1 NC) nearly stopped Miocic (20-5) in the first round. Jones go Miocic down with a leg trip and worked his way to secure top position. From there, Jones was able to land several short elbows and forearms on various occasions, but Miocic withstood it all.
After the fight, Jones thanked President-elect Donald J. Trump for being among the 20,200 fans in attendance at MSG on Saturday. Trump was joined by, among others, Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kid Rock. The event had a live gate of $16.673,954, the second highest in MSG history, trailing the $17.7 million from UFC 205 in 2016.
Miocic, who hadn’t fought in three years, ends his the most decorated heavyweight in UFC history, with six title fight wins and a run of four consecutive title defenses.
“I’m done,” Miocic said after the fight. ”I’m hanging them up. I’m retiring. Thank God.”
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
