Jones retires Miocic, retains UFC heavyweight title with vicious TKO

Jon Jones is still the baddest man in the UFC - though a certain Englishman may disagree.

Jones finished Stipe Miocic with a spinning back kick to the body to retain the heavyweight title in the UFC 309 main event Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York. The TKO finish came at the 4:29 mark of the third round.

Jones ended a 20-month layoff as he defended the heavyweight title for the first time.

Miocic announced his retirement from mixed martial arts after the fight. The 42-year-old former two-time champion - widely considered the greatest heavyweight in UFC history - returned to the sport after a four-year hiatus to challenge Jones. Many expected Miocic would end his career if he came up short.

"I'm done," Miocic said in his postfight interview. "I'm hanging them up. I'm retiring."

Jones' future, on the other hand, is not so clear. Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall of England should be next in line for a crack at the undisputed title. However, Jones said earlier this week he isn't interested in unifying the belts with Aspinall and instead wants to face light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Jones was adamant he would retire if the promotion didn't book the Pereira fight.

In the Octagon on Saturday, Jones revealed he will likely continue his career following the victory over Miocic. He didn't name any specific opponents but acknowledged he has "options."

"As far as my future in the Octagon, I decided that maybe I will not retire," Jones said. "I have some conversations to have with (UFC CEO) Dana (White) and (chief business officer) Hunter (Campbell). We have some negotiating to do, and if everything goes right, maybe we'll give you guys what you want to see."

He added: "I know that we have options. I'm just gonna see what Uncle Dana wants and what Uncle Hunter wants, and you guys will hear about it soon, I'm sure."

Jones dominated Miocic from start to finish. He dumped the challenger to the ground a minute-and-a-half into the first round and unleashed several devastating elbows from top control. Jones kept Miocic on the mat until the horn and opened up a cut on his cheek in the last few seconds.

Miocic was tentative in the second round, seemingly wary of the takedown threat. Jones mixed up his offense well on the feet, landing kicks and knees to the body, jabs, and a solid counter left. Miocic had a bit more success to start the third, landing a few left hands and briefly backing Jones up toward the fence.

However, Jones hurt Miocic with a right hand and continued to show off his many tools in the stand-up department, mixing in knees and kicks with punches. Jones caught Miocic with a clean left.

With less than 40 seconds left in the third round, Jones spun and landed a devastating kick to Miocic's rib cage. Miocic immediately hunched over and, as Jones swarmed him, crumpled to the ground. Jones landed a few shots before referee Herb Dean stepped in.

Jones earned the first finish in a UFC title fight stemming from a spinning back kick to the body and the sixth finish overall, according to research analyst Michael Carroll.

With the victory, Jones improved to a career 28-1 (1 NC) and extended his UFC-record unbeaten streak to 20 fights. The only blemish in that span is a 2017 no-contest against Daniel Cormier. And the only other blemish on Jones' record is a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in 2009 for landing 12-6 elbows, a type of strike that was legalized under the Unified Rules of MMA earlier this year.

Jones was a longtime champion at light heavyweight before he moved up to heavyweight in March 2023 and submitted Ciryl Gane to capture the vacant title. The New York native was the eighth fighter in UFC history to win belts in two different divisions.

Jones is now the fourth fighter in UFC history to successfully defend titles in two weight classes, joining Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Henry Cejudo.

Miocic hadn't stepped into the cage since he dropped the heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou in a March 2021 knockout defeat.

Miocic said he "felt good" against Jones but wasn't able to follow his game plan.

"I just didn't do what I was supposed to do," Miocic said. "He won."

The Ohio native captured the UFC heavyweight championship in 2016 and then again in 2019. Miocic, a surefire future Hall of Famer, finishes his career with a 20-5 record.