The goat is still king. Jon Jones defended the heavyweight title in thrilling fashion against former titleholder Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday evening. Jones fended off Miocic with a vicious back kick to the ribs that sent Miocic straight to the canvas and was unable to continue. It was a beautiful ending for the most decorated champion in the history of the sport and a bit of validation after many were disappointed with how quickly Jones defeated Ciryl Gane to capture the title last year.
Instead of a quick finish, Jones methodically knocked down Miocic. It started in the first round when Jones scored a smooth takedown after a trip and went to work with nasty elbows from the top. It seemed like he was going to get it right then and there, but Miocic managed to survive and keep trying to get on offense in the second and third rounds. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to break through Jones' defense before Miocic's kick took all the wind away and ended the action. Now attention turns to whether Jones will actually defend his title against interim titleholder Tom Aspinall or whether he will head off into the sunset after denying Aspinall his chance to fight for a full week.
Elsewhere on the card, Charles Oliveira continued his dominant ways against Michael Chandler as the Brazilian took a unanimous decision over the American in their rematch. Oliveira captured the vacant lightweight title against Chandler in 2021 when he scored a second-round knockout. This time it was Chandler who had to recover after being dominated on both the feet and ground for four rounds. Chandler managed to stun Oliveira in the fifth round with a perfect right handball, then delivered a barrage of punches to the back of the head that referee Keith Peterson allowed. When Oliveira managed to take control of the fight in the final seconds, Chandler somehow got to his feet with Oliveira on his back and knocked him down not once, but twice as the crowd erupted, despite the result not really was doubtful.
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UFC 309 fight card, results
- Jon Jones (c) def. Stipe Miocic via TKO in the third round (body kick)
- Charles Oliveira defeated. Michael Chandler by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
- Bo Nickal defeated. Paul Craig by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Viviane Araujo defeated. Karine Silva by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mauricio Luffy defeated. James Llontop by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Marcus McGhee defeated. Jonathan Martinez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jim Miller defeated. Damon Jackson via submission in the first round (guillotine choke)
- David Onama defeated. Roberto Romero by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Marcin Tybura defeated. Jhonata Diniz via second-round TKO (doctor's stoppage)
- Raminz Brahimaj defeated. Mickey Gall on first-round knockout (punches)
- Oban Elliott defeated. Bassil Hafez on third-round knockout (punches)
- Eduarda Moura defeated. Veronica Hardy by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
