The greatest fighter in MMA history overcame an 18-month hiatus and recovered 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 record when he dominated former champion Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309. In the co-headliner, Charles Oliveira did a giant step towards fighting once again for the lightweight title which he won. once held off fending off a furious rally from Michael Chandler in their rematch.
As the dust begins to settle after another memorable trip for the world’s premier MMA promotion to “the world’s most famous arena,” let’s 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 record of wins in UFC title fights to an incredible 16 with the brutal and efficient victory over Miocic, the most decorated heavyweight champion that the promotion has ever known. Considering this was only Jones’ second fight at heavyweight, his second appearance in nearly five years, and his first since recovering from surgery, the fact that there was nothing close to cage rust or even compromising moments for Jones in the cage. speaks of his greatness. Jones extinguished most of the danger Miocic had brought with him into the Octagon by taking him down in the first round and bombarding him wildly with elbows as he closed out the round with over 3:30 of dominant time in top position . From there, Jones threw a heavy jab and a variety of dangerous kicks that slowly wore Miocic down until a spinning back kick to the ribs put him away for good in the third round. Yes, there were equal questions about Miocic’s entry into the fight given that he was ending a three-year layoff at 42 and hadn’t won since 2020. But Jones presented a performance so complete and thorough that it was hard to tell if Miocic looked old or if he was simply overwhelmed from the start and forced to constantly play catch-up against a more dynamic opponent. Jones’ skillset appears to have evolved and aged perfectly for the heavyweight division at age 37, hinting at a bright future ahead. But the fact that Jones continues to find new ways to win at his age and this far into his GOAT career has been most impressive.
2. Jones appears to have put the topic of retirement behind him
It was arguably the biggest result of UFC 309 as Jones, during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, announced he would not walk away victorious and hinted that recent discussions with management of the UFC prepared him to continue fighting. This doesn’t mean that Jones has officially addressed the elephant in the room, it’s the fact that fans are desperate for him to unify the title against interim champion Tom Aspinall, who was in attendance. In fact, Jones appeared to go out of his way (as did Rogan) to avoid bringing Aspinall up and the England native was not allowed into the cage for a faceoff. But given that the CEO UFC director Dana White said this week that Jones would be forced to defend against Aspinall if he wanted to get the fight he covets much more – a super fight against light heavyweight king Alex Pereira – he n it’s not difficult to be optimistic. approach on the possibility of Jones-Aspinall being next. Jones regularly contradicted himself throughout the fight, making countless excuses as to why Aspinall didn’t deserve a fight against him. But some of that could be attributed to the questions Jones had about himself after such a long layoff and surgery. The fact that Jones dominated Miocic so completely was probably enough to show Jones that he would be very competitive against Aspinall. Now it’s just a matter of the UFC offering Jones the right financial number to make the unification fight a reality.
3. Stipe Miocic deserves nothing but our full respect
Regularly maligned by critics due to his age and dismissal, Miocic proved unable to turn back the clock against Jones and was routinely beaten for his troubles. Yet Miocic still took the time to face the music during his post-fight interview where the two-time champion humbly laid down his gloves, signaling 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 on the job next week, win or lose this weekend, exemplified the blue-collar spirit that fans respect to the core. He was never fanfare or trash talk, and always took to heart the responsibility of being a sportsman. As one of the most honest champions the UFC has ever promoted, Miocic will be best remembered for his durability, all-around skillset, and penchant for dominant finishes. A family man with strong morals and a great work ethic, Miocic’s men’s spirit will remain a big part of his legacy, as will career victories against a who’s who of heavyweight legends, notably Daniel Cormier, Francis Ngannou, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio. Werdum, Andrei Arlovski and Mark Hunt.
4. At 35, Charles Oliveira isn’t done competing for world titles
Even though he had to survive a furious exchange from Chandler in the final round during their rematch, Oliveira’s dominance in the first four rounds should be enough to give him a chance at the winner of an Islam Makhachev-Arman Tsarukyan rematch for the lightweight title, which could take place in January. BMF champion Max Holloway has also expressed interest in defending his title against Oliveira in another high-profile rematch. But Oliveira’s desire appears to return to his 2022 submission title loss to Makhachev. Regardless, Oliveira proved against Chandler that his composure, speed, clean striking, and dominant grappling are still very elite despite losing two of three upcoming fights (to Makhachev and a split decision to Tsarukyan in April). Oliveira also never panicked despite Chandler’s fifth-round push, which included two slams in the final minute when Oliveira hung onto his standing opponent’s back.
5. Stiff-armed Bo Nickal boos for a needed test against Paul Craig
While it’s difficult to watch a fight that ended with an angry crowd calling undefeated Nickal “overrated” and calling it a huge success, the Penn State wrestling legend and three-time champion the NCAA benefited greatly from this he learned by beating Paul Craig. Not only did Nickal go 15 minutes without firing a single takedown, but he also went the distance for the first time in seven professional fights. Nickal did well to win the striking battles against the bigger Craig even though he still appears to be a work in progress on his feet. Craig’s lead leg was bruised and battered by Nickal’s kicks and the standout fighter’s striking defense was solid. He will just need to increase his production in the future and continue to add variety to his overall striking game. Yet, if he had taken the fight to the ground and submitted Craig early, it would have prevented him from gaining the valuable fighting experience he eventually gained.
