The UFC 309 tournament was a night that featured a lot of exhilarating fights, including a heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. Also on the main card was the battle between Maruico Ruffy and Jame Llontop.
The two fighters had it in for each other from the moment they stepped into the cage. Ruffy came in with explosive punches, but Llontop managed to remain in the game. Llontop withstood the punches with an iron chin and kept Ruffy at bay with some well-timed punches and a right hook that gave Llontop a reprieve for a while.
Ruffy did not relent and came back with calf kicks that soon started to affect his opponent. The two continued to exchange, but Ruffy gained the upper hand and landed a deadly blow that opened a cut on Llontop’s left eye before the fight came to a close, leaving Ruffy the winner by unanimous decision.
“No frustration here,” Ruffy said when addressing his struggles to find opponents. It’s part of the process. They’ve given me the opportunity to be at Madison Square Garden. I’m just enjoying it.”
“When asked who he’d like to face next, Ruffy replied, “Saint-Denis, What do you think? Let’s go fight.”
Another UFC 309 main card fight that had a lot of hype was the bout between Bo Nickal and Paul Craig. Although the fight was one for the books, Nickal did not have a warm reception in the cage. The fighter was greeted with boos and chants of “overrated” as he stepped into the cage, but he did not let this get him down. Nickal came with nice shots and a left hand, but Craig was ready for those and evaded them while landing some shots of his own.
Craig continued to pepper Nickal with deadly shots, but Nickal was prepared for this and landed a huge punch that almost took Craig out. The two traded their fair share of shots, but Nickal soon landed a well-timed punch that caught Craig’s left eye. Craig managed to remain in the fight, but the eye began to swell and trickle blood down his face. Nickal kept at it and fired some deadly shots before the final horn.
Main Card
Jon Jones def. Stipe Miocic via TKO (R3, 4:29)
Charles Oliveira def. Michael Chandler, via unanimous decision
Bo Nickal def. Paul Craig via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Viviane Araujo def. Karine Silva via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Mauricio Ruffy def. James Llontop via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Preliminary Card
Marcus McGhee def. Jonathan Martinez via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Jim Miller def. Damon Jackson via submission (guillotine) (R1, 2:44)
David Onama def. Roberto Romero via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
