The greatest fighter in MMA history shook off an 18-month layoff and recovery from a torn pectoral muscle to defend his heavyweight title at New York's historic Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Jon Jones added another legendary name to his all-time great resume when he dominated former champion Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309. As co-headliner, Charles Oliveira took a huge step towards challenging for the lightweight title once held by fending off a furious rally from Michael Chandler in their rematch.
As the dust begins to settle on another memorable trip from the world's leading MMA promotion to the “Most Famous Arena in the World,” we take a closer look at what we learned from UFC 309.
1. All Jon Jones does is win, win, win…no matter what
Sixteen years into his incredible professional career, Jones extended his UFC record for title fight victories to an incredible 16 with the brutal and efficient victory over Miocic, the most decorated heavyweight champion the promotion has ever seen. Considering that this was only Jones' second fight at heavyweight, his second appearance in nearly five years and his first since recovering from surgery, the fact is that there was nothing close to cage rust or even compromising moments for Jones in the cage gab speaks of his greatness. Jones eliminated most of the danger, Miocic brought him into the Octagon by taking him down in Round 1 and bombarding him brutally with elbows as he finished the round on top with over 3:30 dominant time. From there, Jones delivered a vicious jab and a series of dangerous kicks that slowly wore down Miocic until a kick to the ribs finally finished him off in round 3. Yes, there were the same questions about whether Miocic entered the fight, considering he was coming off a three-year break at age 42 and hadn't won since 2020. But Jones put on such a well-rounded and thorough performance that it was hard to tell whether Miocic looked old or whether he was simply overwhelmed from the start and forced to constantly play catch-up against a more dynamic opponent. At 37, Jones' skills appeared to have developed and aged perfectly for the heavyweight division, suggesting a bright future. But the fact that Jones continues to find new ways to win at his age and this far into his GOAT career was most impressive.
2. Jones appears to have put retirement behind him
This was arguably the biggest result to come from UFC 309, as Jones announced during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan that he would not emerge victorious and hinted that recent discussions with UFC brothers have him ready to move on to fight. That doesn't mean Jones has officially addressed the elephant in the room, which is the fact that fans are desperate to see him unify the title against interim champion Tom Aspinall, who was in attendance. In fact, Jones (as did Rogan) seemed to do everything he could to keep Aspinall out of the game, and the English native was not allowed into the cage for a faceoff. But considering UFC CEO Dana White said this week that Jones will be forced to defend against Aspinall if he wants to secure the fight he craves much more – a superfight against light heavyweight king Alex Pereira – it's not hard to be optimistic about the possibility that Jones-Aspinall is next. Jones regularly contradicted himself throughout the fight, making countless excuses as to why Aspinall didn't deserve to fight him. But some of that could be due to the questions Jones had about himself after such a long layoff and surgery. The fact that Jones dominated Miocic so thoroughly probably showed Jones that he would be very competitive against Aspinall. What's important now is that the UFC offers Jones the right numbers financially to make the unification fight a reality.
3. Stipe Miocic deserves nothing but our complete respect
Miocic was repeatedly vilified by critics due to his age and dismissal, but proved unable to turn back the clock against Jones and was systematically thrashed for his problems. Still, Miocic took time to face the music during his post-fight interview, where the two-time champion humbly removed his gloves and announced the end of his legendary 18-year career. Miocic, a full-time firefighter in suburban Ohio who told CBS Sports last week he would be back at work next week and win or lose this weekend, was an example of the blue-collar spirit that fans deeply respect. He was never about fanfare or trash talk, and always embraced the responsibility of being an athlete. One of the most honest champions the UFC has ever promoted, Miocic will be remembered most for his endurance, versatile skill set and penchant for dominant finishes. A family man with strong morals and a great work ethic, Miocic's everyman character will remain a large part of his legacy, as will career victories over a who's who of heavyweight legends such as Daniel Cormier, Francis Ngannou, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski and Mark Hunt.
4. At 35, Charles Oliveira isn't done fighting for world titles
Even though he had to survive a tough last-round surge against Chandler in their rematch, Oliveira's dominance in the first four rounds should be enough to give him a shot at the winner of a rematch between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan for the lightweight title that could take place in January. BMF champion Max Holloway has also shown interest in defending his title against Oliveira in another high-profile rematch. But Oliveira's desire appears to be to make amends for his title loss to Makhachev in 2022. Anyway, Oliveira proved against Chandler that his poise, pace, sharp striking and dominant fighting style are still top notch despite losing two of three upcoming fights (against Makhachev and a split decision against Tsarukyan in April) . Oliveira never panicked either, despite Chandler's push in the fifth round, which included two slams in the final minute as Oliveira clung to his standing opponent's back.
5. Bo Nickal stiff-armed to pass a necessary test against Paul Craig
While it's difficult to call a match that ended with an angry crowd calling the undefeated Nickal “overrated” a major success, the Penn State wrestling legend and three-time NCAA champion benefited greatly from it he learned when he beat Paul Craig. Not only did Nickal manage to go the entire 15 minutes without scoring a single takedown, he also went the distance for the first time in seven professional fights. Nickal has done well and won the impressive fights against the bigger Craig, even though it looks like he is still developing. Craig's front leg was bruised and bruised by Nickal's kicks, and the grappling star's punch defense was solid. He simply needs to improve his performance in the future and continue to diversify his entire attacking game. However, had he taken the fight to the ground and submitted Craig early, it would have prevented him from gaining the valuable fighting experience he ultimately gained.