Jones triumphs in return, TKO’s Miocic at UFC 309

NEW YORK — Jon Jones looked exceptional as ever Saturday, as he knocked out Stipe Miocic with a spinning back kick in the third round of their heavyweight championship fight at UFC 309 inside Madison Square Garden.

And now, with that matter settled, the fight world will eagerly await its heavyweight title unification bout.

Jones (28-1) dominated Miocic (20-5) en route to the TKO victory at 4:29 of the third round. The matchup was originally scheduled to take place in November 2023, but Jones pulled out with a torn pectoral muscle. Leading up to Saturday, much of the prefight talk was about whether Jones would face interim champion Tom Aspinall if he won.

After defeating Miocic, Jones made it clear he is open to the challenge.

“I’ve decided maybe I will not retire,” Jones said, adding that he’ll have conversations with UFC CEO Dana White and chief business officer Hunter Campbell. “We’ll negotiate. If everything goes right, maybe we’ll give you guys what you want to see.”

Miocic, 42, who elected to wait an entire year for Jones’ return, announced his retirement in the Octagon following the loss. The former two-time champion hadn’t fought since 2021 before facing Jones on Saturday.

Even taking Miocic’s layoff into account, Saturday was more about how good Jones looked rather than how rusty Miocic might have been. A near-consensus pick for greatest fighter of all time, Jones showcased all his tools in his first knockout win since December 2018. He took Miocic down in the opening round and tormented him with nasty elbows from top position. He hurt him with front kicks to the body in the second and third rounds and nearly dropped him with a jab.

The final shot was a spinning back kick to Miocic’s midsection that sent him to his knees. It was a brutal climax to a one-sided fight. According to UFC Stats, Miocic landed 42 strikes — none of which was particularly memorable — to 104 by Jones. Jones’ defense was superb all night, and he made Miocic pay with counterpunches and knees in the clinch.

“He’s really, really good,” Jones said of Miocic. “He’s tough, durable. I hit him with some decent shots and he kept coming forward. Everyone knows Stipe isn’t the biggest heavyweight. He comes lean, in great shape. I watched him have wars with Daniel Cormier and a lot of guys, and they were rock ’em, sock ’em. He doesn’t react much to getting hit in the face, so our plan was to get him in the body.”

Aspinall (15-3) was in New York for UFC 309 and sat cageside for the main event. The 31-year-old English champion has been a wrecking ball in the heavyweight division in recent years, recording first-round finishes in seven of his nine UFC appearances. He won the UFC’s interim title in November 2023 and made a rare interim title defense against Curtis Blaydes in July.

Before Saturday, Jones had shown zero interest in facing Aspinall, even going so far as to call him a “nobody.” Jones had said he’d rather vacate the heavyweight title than face Aspinall in the Octagon. Whether that was a negotiation tactic or Jones simply had a change of heart, it now appears a unification bout is very much on the table.

With the victory, Jones extended his UFC record to 16 title fight wins.