The UFC octagon was at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday for UFC 309. The fight card was headlined by a heavyweight title bout between champion Jon Jones and former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic.
The two were scheduled to meet at UFC 295 last November but Jones was forced out of the fight due to injury. Jones last fought at UFC 285 in March 2023 defeating Ciryl Gane for the vacant championship. Fully recovered from injury, Jones put his belt on the line for the first time inside the iconic venue.
Miocic is widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight in the promotion’s history. He defended the title three times in his first reign, a UFC record. Prior to Saturday’s title fight, Miocic had been on the sideline for two years longer than Jones. He last fought at UFC 260 in March 2021 losing to Francis Ngannou by knockout. The fight pitted the greatest of all time against UFC’s greatest heavyweight.
They touched gloves during instructions and went back to their corners. Jones inched forward and landed a left hand. Miocic countered with a right hand. Jones delivered a front kick to the body. He landed a leg kick followed by another kick to the body. Miocic pressed forward with punches but Jones moved away. Jones threw a head kick and slammed Miocic to the canvas. Jones delivered elbows and Miocic tied him up. Jones continued to deliver elbows.
Midway through the opening round, Jones postured up and connected with an elbow. He moved to side control and went back to delivering elbows. Jones connected with a series of elbows. Miocic briefly tied Jones up but Jones found the space to deliver move elbows. Miocic worked his way to full guard but Jones moved back to side control. Nones landed huge elbows as the round ended. Miocic got to his feet with a cut below his right eye on the cheek. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Jones.
They stood right in front of each other to start the second round. Jones began to inch forward. Miocic landed a left hand. Jones responded wit a stiff jab. Miocic landed an uppercut in the pocket. Jones switched stances and delivered a front kick to the body. Miocic moved forward with a flurry. Jones blocked or moved out of the way of most of it. Moicic missed with a right hand and Jones countered with an elbow. Jones went back to landing front kicks to the body. Miocic didn’t like that one. Jones clinched and landed a knee to the body.
Miocic landed a straight right hand followed by a leg kick. Miocic partially landed a left. hand. Jones went high with a kick that partially got through. Jones landed a leg kick, a kick to the body followed by another kick. Miocic drove forward and landed a combination. Jones reacted with a spinning back kick to the body. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Jones.
Jones landed his jab to start the third. Miocic drove forward with a flurry and connected with a right hand. Jones continued to pressure Miocic. His jab started to land more often. Miocic landed an uppercut in the pocket. Jones landed an elbow on the inside followed by a right hand. Jones connected with a right hand that hurt Miocic. Miocic backed away and Jones took his time. Jones went back to the front kicks to the body. Miocic missed with a combination. Jones opted for a side kick to the body.
Jones inched forward and landed a clean left. hand. Miocic responded but came up with air. Miocic closed the distance and landed a left. Jones responded with a kick to the body. Jones delivered a spinning back kick to the body and Miocic crumbled to the canvas. A couple of punches and the referee stopped the fight.
The official time of the stoppage was 4:29 of the third round.
