The UFC 309 event took place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, and it was a night to remember for fans as returning heavyweight champion Jon Jones battled Stipe Miocic to retain his belt.
The two top heavyweight fighters were originally set to battle at UFC 295, but Jones had to pull out due to an injury. The bout was later rescheduled to happen at UFC 309, and both fighters brought their A-game. Jones stepped into the ring with a lot of energy and landed the first punch. He rained down body and leg kicks that drove Miocic to the corner, but he soon got his feet back and responded with a right hand.
Jones soon went in for the kill and had Miocic on the floor, where he delivered deadly elbow shots. Miocic tried his best to get out of that oppressive position, but Jones was relentless with his attacks. He soon managed to wriggle through before the round came to a close.
Miocic began to move slower in the following round but was quicker with his jabs and punches. He landed a left hand and an uppercut, but that didn’t deter the champ. “Bones” continued to land hard kicks and threw in a stiff jab that popped Miocic’s face.
He began the chase, but Jones drove him back with body kicks and punches that stalled Miocic for a bit. Miocic bided his time to find an opening before landing a leg kick and a straight punch. The two continued to exchange punches, but Jones had the upper hand for most of the fight, leaving Miocic retreating. Jones landed another clean punch, but Miocic retaliated with a left kick.
Jones backed Miocic to the cage once again in the third round, and this Miocic had nowhere to go. He unleashed a flurry of punches before delivering a spinning back kick that dropped Miocic. The champ followed him down with a few more shots before the referee ended the match, leaving Jones still the heavyweight champion. Miocic was pretty devastated by the loss and announced his retirement shortly afterwards.
“It sucked ass, I lost,” Miocic said. “I knew he was going to be tough. He’s one of the best of all time. He caught me in the ribs. I expected everything, but I just didn’t do what I was supposed to do.
“Hats off to that man. I’m done. I’m hanging them up. And, I’m retiring.”
“I expected everything,” He said. “I just didn’t do what I was supposed to do. Congratulations to him. He did what he was supposed to do, and he won. Hats off to him. I want nothing but the best for him.”
Miocic has had a good career, and he is regarded as the greatest heavyweight in the promotion’s history. The fighter was formerly the heavyweight champ, and he successfully defended the title three times in his first reign, a UFC record. Same as Jones, Miocic had been on the sideline for a year plus. His last bout was considered a battle of the greats as he fought former heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou. The bout took place at UFC 260 in March 2021, but unfortunately for Miocic, he lost via knockout.
Although the fighter is retiring, his opponent, Jones, regards him as a formidable opponent. In a post-fight conference, Jones spoke about the fighter and their time in the cage.
“He’s really, really good,” Jones said about Miocic after the fight. “He’s really durable. I was hitting him with some pretty decent shots, but he kept coming forward. It was like fighting against the Terminator. It’s 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.”
