Miocic (20-5) announced his retirement from MMA after losing his attempt at a third UFC heavyweight title against Jon Jones at Madison Square Garden.

The only heavyweight to defend the UFC heavyweight title four times Miocic is regarded as the greatest heavyweight in the promotion’s history.

He retires with victories over some of the best to ever do it including Daniel Cormier, Francis Ngannou, Junior Dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, Andre Arlosvki and Mark Hunt to name a few.

 

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“Let me start this post by saying I am good. Been through a lot worse. I hope everybody enjoyed the show on Saturday. What an incredible way go out! I started this journey fighting in local bowling alleys & ended it selling out Madison Square Garden. It truly doesn’t get batter than that.

Sorry I don’t get the W, but you can’t get em all. Sometimes it’s not your night, that is the nature of the beast. You can’t plan a perfect ending in this sport, but I guess the perfect ending is to have been lucky enough to do it at all. You all have given me so much, and I hope I did you all proud. Croatia & Cleveland Ohio especially. I felt all of you with me at every battle.

To Marcus Marinelli and the Strongstyle team. We started together, we finished together. We cried together & we bled together. If people only knew the whole story of everything we have been through… we could write a pretty badass novel. There is nobody else I would have shared this journey with… the best part is that we are family forever… Marcus, I know my father has passed. But I also know he appreciates you stepping in and being the father figure I needed in my life. We had a hell of a run coach. You dedicated years of your life to me. We made history based on a dream and you had a vision. Now we have more time to drink wine and play euchre while making fun of Bobby because he is terrible at defending him self.

To my opponents, thank you all. I learned something from every single one of you. It was a honor to go to war brothers 👊

To my wife, you are my rock. The ship doesn’t sail without you. You sacrificed so much for this dream and I love you. God knew I needed you & you motivate me more than any one! I will miss hanging up on you on Embedded, but there’s YouTube for that 😂 To my kids, everything I have ever done is all for the two of you. To my Mom, I know this isn’t the career you would have chose for me, but you have always been in my corner since day one.. it was me & you. To my VaynerSports family, you guys are the best in the business!” 

Stipe Miocic is a firefighter and paramedic in his native Ohio.

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Stipe Miocic

Stipe Miocic will almost certainly go down as the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time, at least for the foreseeable future. Two title reigns. The record for most consecutive title defenses in the weight class. And he fought through overlapping time periods, defeating the likes of Mark Hunt, Roy Nelson, Andrei Arlovski, Junior Dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, Daniel Cormier, and Francis Ngannou (yes, Ngannou avenged that loss, but their series still ended 1-1).

Is Miocic the greatest fighter of all time? No. Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, and Jon Jones, who he lost to at UFC 309, sit ahead of him. But who cares? Miocic was a soft-spoken, hard-fighting heavyweight champ who did his talking in the cage, made a name for himself, and cashed out at the right time. Retiring following UFC 309 was the right move. With a family and a whole other career as a firefighter, Miocic has enough on his plate. He has nothing left to prove. The Hall of Fame awaits.

Miocic’s next fight: probably a fire

Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler will not be seeing anyone at the top anytime soon. Through four rounds in a rematch with Charles Oliveira that served as the UFC 309 co-main event, he was dominated. Dragged to the ground and smothered. Credit to Chandler for fending off multiple submission attempts, but surviving doesn’t win points. He did rally back in round five, and made a fight out of it, but gassed out his arms before he could end Oliveira’s night.

That former Bellator lightweight champ, who came to the UFC late after a stellar career in his old home, has a losing record in the octagon. Yet he’s capable of exciting fights that few outside the likes of “Do Bronx,” Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje can match. So what’s next? Well, Conor McGregor is the obvious answer, but Dana White is now claiming he won’t return until late 2025. Should Chandler wait that long? Honestly, he lost over a year of his career playing the waiting game already. At the same time, a second loss might wipe the McGregor fight off the table. And it’s still a compelling fight. So if there is a firm offer on the table, Chandler might as well take it. If not, Beneil Dariush might be an interesting option. He’s coming off two losses as well, including one to Oliveira.

Chandler’s next fight: Beneil Dariush (or McGregor, if he actually has a date set)

Paul Craig

Scotland’s Paul Craig lost a decision against stud wrestler Bo Nickal at UFC 309, and the fans did not love it. They serenaded Nickal with boos, so in a sense, Craig got off lightly, but it takes two to tango. It didn’t help that Nickal opted not to shoot takedowns against a fighter in Craig who is above-average off his back. In any case, the end result is that Paul Craig is on an 0-3 run at the moment.

Craig’s middleweight turn has not gone as hoped, as he’s 1-3 in the weight class. Still, he’s a notable veteran and worth keeping around, and will hopefully be immune to the unofficial “three losses and you’re cut” trend. The UFC is headed to London in March, and Craig fighting there makes all the sense in the world. Marc-Andre Barriault is also an unranked middleweight on an 0-3 skid, so the pairing makes all the sense in the world. Another clash of styles, and likely a loser leaves town situation.

Craig’s next fight: Marc-Andre Barriault

Karine Silva

“Fraud check” is an overused term in MMA, so stop that storyline right there. Karine Silva wasn’t “fraud checked” at UFC 309, and no one who has 17 finishes in 18 wins is a fraud. What did happen was, she encountered a veteran opponent who had better Fight IQ, who fought a smart game plan and conserved her energy.

Silva, who many see as having title potential down the line, will learn from her decision loss at UFC 309. In the meantime, barring any medical suspension, get her back in there. Everyone below Silva in the UFC’s top 15 she’s either fought already, or is booked. So it might be someone outside of the rankings that comes next. Melissa Gatto went up to bantamweight for her her last fight, and finished Tamires Vidal. If she’s coming back down, that fight could work.

Silva’s next fight: Melissa Gatto

James Llontop

Missing weight is never a good look, but to be fair to James Llontop, he took a catchweight fight with Mauricio Ruffy on short notice to keep Ruffy on the UFC 309 card. Even Ruffy thinks the UFC should keep him, and he put on an incredible showing of toughness and durability on Saturday.

The “who” here doesn’t matter. Just give Llontop some time to recover, given him proper time for a fight camp, and pair him up with an incoming DWCS fighter or someone freshly signed.

Llontop’s next fight: DWCS/newcomer

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For Miocic, already a two-time heavyweight champ with the most title defenses, a third reign at age 42 would be all but unparalleled. Pushing him towards Randy Couture-like numbers (“The Natural” had three reigns at heavyweight, and two at light heavyweight). For Jones, well, just ask Dana White: he’s the GOAT. And, picograms aside, he’s certainly the favorite for such an accolade, with only Georges St-Pierre really in the running beside him.

With the main event underway at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, it was Jones making an attempt to throw a left hand early, which brought about a “Stipe” chant from the crowd. That, despite Jones hailing from New York state. Jones fired a kick to the midsection, and Miocic doubled, no tripled up on right hands. When they came together, however, Jones easily took Miocic down with a trip, then landed a solid elbow while settling in on top. Jones was in half-guard with Miocic fighting the wrists; Jones slipped in another elbow, then another. Jones postured up, and re-engaged, more elbows smashing into the side of Miocic’s head. Somehow, the former champ survived, spinning around to avoid at least one blow. Jones, however, stayed right on him, though Stipe was able to get guard back.

In the final minute, with Miocic looking to scramble, Jones got into side control, landing a few more elbows prior to the horn- finally opening up a cut on Miocic’s cheek.

Miocic circled outside to open round two, looking a tad hesitant. He fired an uppercut in tight when they came together, but Jones stepped back. Jones went back to his body kick, which was one of his better weapons in the early going. Miocic, meanwhile, was firing right hands that were missing the mark – and another body kick had Miocic clearly reacting. As the midway mark of round two passed, Jones mixed in some low kicks, then clinched and fired a knee to the body. A Miocic 1-2 saw the straight right back Jones up. “Bones” mixed up the levels of his kicks, which promoted Miocic to charge forward with a combo. A spinning back kick landed to the body for Jones.

Incredibly, after two rounds, Stipe Miocic was showing bruising to the belly, the result of Jones’ teep kicks. In the third, Miocic went on the attack, forcing Jones to retreat but still grazing him with a right hand. As they came together, Miocic landed a right, then followed up, forcing Jones to retreat again. Jones wisely went back to his kicks, and 90 seconds in, the champ stunned Miocic with a right! Miocic shook it off, but a round that had started strong for the Ohio native had been turned around on him.

It turned around completely in the final minute. As strong as a round as Miocic had to that point, another spinning back kick to the ribs connected for Jon Jones. And when it did, Miocic dropped to the ground, wind right out of his sails. Jones followed up with ground n’ pound, and that was the fight!

With that, Jones defended his heavyweight title. Referring to Miocic as “The Terminator,” Jones gave his opponent his dues following the bout, speaking with Joe Rogan. “I was hoping to get him out in the first round, but he hung in there,” said Jones.

The question now becomes, what is next for Jon Jones: Alex Pereira, Tom Aspinall, retirement? Instead of giving an answer, Jones gave credit to his faith, then added that “I decided that maybe I will not retire. I have some conversations to have with Dana and Hunter, some negotiating to do,” and suggested that if all goes well, he might just give the fans what they want to see.

Official Result: Jon Jones def. Stipe Miocic by TKO (spinning back kick and punches), Round 3, 4:29

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With Jones hurt ahead of last year’s UFC 295, the heavyweight division had been put on hold. Tom Aspinall stepped up, claimed interim gold and even defended it over the summer. But the UFC would not be dissuaded from booking Jones vs. Miocic, pitting the current heavyweight champ and ex-light heavyweight against the man with more heavyweight title defenses than anyone.

Was it the most relevant fight to the division? Probably not, with Miocic coming off a 2021 loss to Francis Ngannou. And yet somehow, despite years of inactivity, Miocic was still considered by many (including Jones himself) as a “legacy fight.”

In any case, the match-up was likely to produce fireworks, with Miocic rarely in a dull fight, and Jones looking to defend his title for the first time. The UFC 309 co-main event was equally explosive, if not more so, as Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler met for a second time, a five-round affair with the possibility of a title shot on the line.

Following Saturday’s UFC 309, tune in for the post-fight press conference to stay on top of all of the developing storylines. A live stream is available above.

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The most title fight wins in UFC HISTORY 😤@JonnyBones looks to continue his reign TOMORROW NIGHT at #UFC309! pic.twitter.com/iTHPiCjzvh

— UFC (@ufc) November 16, 2024

At a time when superstardom for mixed martial artists involves crossing over into other media, Jon Jones remains different.  The longtime light-heavyweight champion and now heavyweight kingpin remains, over a decade later, a box office attraction of the highest order without having crossed over into major motion pictures, television, or music.  If you need convincing, then you should look no further than the astronomical resale prices for tickets to his cancelled fight last November.

While his professional career has been a dramatic saga, to say the least, his status as the most dominant talent the sport has ever seen remains unquestioned.  There is indeed great demand to see him test himself against a next generation talent in Tom Aspinall, but the fact is there will always be another up-and-comer who rises through the ranks.  After years of dominance, Jones has the chance to put the perfect capstone on his career and retire as a reigning champion and officially lock him into his place in MMA history.  Adding a talent like Aspinall would be a huge feather in his cap.  But Jones would need to ask himself if it’s even worth it when there will always be another to rise up through the ranks anyway.

"TOO ****ING EASY!" 😤

🏆 Are we in for a quick night by @StipeMiocic? #UFC260 pic.twitter.com/r5GfgAFgDB

— UFC (@ufc) March 25, 2021

The situation is similar and yet uniquely different for Stipe Miocic.  The most decorated UFC heavyweight champion in promotional history also has victories over some of the best fighters the weight class has ever seen in the past decade.  While Jones is new to the weight class, the layoff for Miocic almost serves as a jumping off point.  His departure coincided with the emergence of a new wave of contenders like Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, Sergei Spivac, and more over the past 24 months.  Like Jones, Miocic could continue to pursue bouts with the next era of fighters.  But after achieving so much at this stage of his career, one begins to weigh whether or not it’s worth it to go through the struggle of climbing the ladder again.

A victory for Saturday would be a seminal one in a career that has seen plenty of triumphs.  For one, the UFC would almost immediately up the financial gain for both men to sell an immediate rematch should Miocic pull off the upset.  Or should Jones decide otherwise, Miocic would also get a shot at a second major payday to defend against Aspinall in order to potentially build the budding English star.  Considering that Miocic has not seen the cage since March of 2021, to be in discussion for such matches amidst several well-performing contenders is an enviable position.  That, is of course, if that’s what he chooses to do.  One could argue there could be no better moment to call it a career than by upsetting the GOAT of the entire sport.

The 🐐 vs the heavyweight 🐐@JonnyBones vs @StipeMiocic

[ #UFC309 LIVE TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus PPV | 10pmET/7pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/I7k3aR7x7R

— UFC (@ufc) November 15, 2024

A victory for Jones is expected to lead to him to see how much the UFC would be willing to offer for him to extend his career and face current interim champion Tom Aspinall.  That fight would be amongst the biggest to be made in 2025.  A victory for Miocic would likely have a similar discussion if Jones chooses to retire off a loss, but most expect that the UFC would take the opportunity and pay both men for what would be a lucrative immediate rematch for all parties involved.

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Jones vs. Miocic may be leaving Tom Aspinall, the UFC‘s interim heavyweight champion, out in the gold. There’s no question, however, that it’s a fight fans still want to see.

Neither man had any trouble hitting the heavyweight limit on Friday, though Miocic, at 248, was over 10lbs heavier than his last appearance. Jones will be the lighter man on Saturday, weighing in at 237.6.

Coming in heavy was James Llontop, a lightweight whose fight with Mauricio Ruffy was already a 165lb catchweight. Llontop had stepped up on short notice, hence the catchweight, but still missed the mark by 1.2lbs.

Full results and highlights from Friday’s UFC 309 weigh-in are below.

UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic Weigh-In Results

Main card

Official Weigh-in Highlights

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Dana White’s GOAT, all but undefeated (yes, there’s that asterisk against Matt Hammill, under a rule set that no longer applies), a champion in two weight classes, the greatest light heavyweight of all time. That’s Jon Jones in a nutshell, discounting all the scandals and controversy outside of the cage, and a litany of drug test failures.

Long layoffs are nothing new for Jones, but at this late stage of his career, every day counts. And so “Bones” returns to face the man considered the greatest heavyweight of all time, Stipe Miocic. The man with the most consecutive heavyweight title defenses (3). The man with two title reigns.

It’s a legacy fight, for sure, though even a year ago, when it was originally booked to headline UFC 295, there were questions. Miocic has not fought since a 2021 loss to Francis Ngannou, that cost him the heavyweight title. It’s Ngannou, now under the employ of the PFL, who is the lineal heavyweight champion, and who can lay claim to “Baddest Man on the Planet,” or at least in MMA. A Jones win over a 42-year old Miocic fighting for the first time in 1330 days? What does that do for the legacy of a fighter already considered by many to be the GOAT?

Still, there’s an undeniable attraction to Jones vs. Miocic. It will be nearly impossible to live up to expectations after the long wait, but the possibility of an upset, and just seeing these two legends in action one more time, might just be worth the price of admission.

Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler II serves as the night’s co-main event, with Chandler done waiting on Conor McGregor for the time being. That fight feels more like an afterthought, with Jones vs. Miocic the driving force behind UFC 309.

Weigh-ins go down on Friday in New York City; Cageside Press will be on the ground covering the event all Fight Week long. Full results can be found below, starting at 9AM ET/6AM PT.

Only one fighter was heavyweight at the UFC 309 weigh-ins, James Llontop. Despite his fight moving up to a 165lb catchweight, he was 1.2lbs over.

UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic Weigh-In Results

Main card

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Jon Jones was rather focused on R-E-S-P-E-C-T, and the lack thereof that he feels he’s received from former UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic in the build-up to their main event showdown this Saturday.

Coming from Jones, who once infamously threatened to kill Daniel Cormier on a hot mic, complaints about respect seem downright trivial. This is the fight game, and Miocic saying, in short, “bring it on, b*tch” is far from the worst trash talk the sport has ever seen. It barely even qualifies as trash talk. Still, it appears to have been enough to get under the current heavyweight champ’s skin.

At the pre-fight presser, Jones allowed that “everyone likes first responders,” a nod to Miocic’s other job as an active duty firefighter. “And I actually respect men and women in the armed forces, law enforcement, things like that. So I made it a point to try to be very respectful to him.”

“There’s been two scenarios now,” Jones continued. “First scenario, he said that ‘my kids will never look at me like I’m an asshole.’ That was a direct attack on me and my family, and my relationship with my kids. Second attack was him calling me a b*tch. So the respect is a little bit out the window, and we’ll see that on Saturday.”

Asked if the fight between them had become personal, Jones confirmed that, for him, it had. “It’s very personal to me, yes.”

Miocic, about as loquacious as the mighty oak at the best of times, pointed out that he’d been responding to Jones’ own threat to “beat my ass in front of the whole arena” when he uttered the b-word. “Sorry for defending myself, I apologize,” Miocic said wryly. He added that he didn’t even remember commenting about his family never seeing him as an asshole. Though with Jones’ history of domestic disputes, there’s little doubt that if Miocic did say it, he’s far from the first to do so.

As for the fight being personal, “I think every fight is personal no matter what. I think you’re fighting another man in the octagon; it’s you against him,” observed Miocic. “It’s always personal.”

Most do not expect Miocic, out of action since a loss to Francis Ngannou in 2021, to be the man to defeat Jones. As for “Bones,” himself coming off an extended layoff, he’s been vocal about his lack of enthusiasm for a Tom Aspinall fight, instead suggesting everyone from Alex Pereira to Derrick Lewis to Jamahal Hill. One fight that has not been discussed much at all is a rematch with Miocic should he pull off an upset on Saturday.

Stipe, for one, is on board with the idea in theory. “I mean yeah but right now I’m worried about Saturday. But once I get it done, we’ll talk,” he said when asked if he’d be willing to run the fight back.”

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UFC 285 was the last time Jones was in action; his heavyweight debut saw him make quick work of French standout Ciryl Gane. “Bon Gamin” had long been heralded by many, including UFC President and CEO Dana White, as a new generation of heavyweight, who moved more like a middleweight.

It mattered not. Jones submitted Gane inside of a round, claiming the title that Francis Ngannou had just recently vacated.

If all that seems ages ago now, consider that Stipe Miocic was last in action way back in 2021. That was his fight against Ngannou, who knocked out the Ohio favorite in highlight reel fashion.

As a result, Jones vs. Miocic boils down to a legacy fight for both men. How fans view it probably depends on how they view Tom Aspinall, but as Jon Jones made clear on Wednesday, he isn’t overly concerned with the interim champ, and for a number of reasons does not want to do business with him.

It’s worth noting that Jones vs. Miocic was supposed to happen one year ago, at UFC 295. A Jones injury saw the fight scrapped, and the wait extended. Which has only added to the feeling that Aspinall is perhaps being short-changed, or robbed of an opportunity, as an interim champ passed over in favor of a fighter coming off a loss, and off the sidelines. These talking points have already factored into the build-up to the fight quite a bit, with Jones going as far as to walk out on an interview with BT Sport during fight week, knowing he’d be asked about the Aspinall factor.

Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira meet in a rematch in the co-main event of UFC 309, which takes place this Saturday, November 16, 2024 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. On Thursday, the event’s pre-fight press conference took place, with the key players on hand.

Tune into the live stream above to catch the UFC 309 pre-fight press conference starting at 5PM ET, 2PM PT.

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Yet he still can’t seem to avoid questions about interim champ Tom Aspinall. Duck calls, emojis and the sort have been hurled at the heavyweight champ on social media and it’s something he truly doesn’t understand.

“I feel like narratives have been created that just truly aren’t there. You can’t duck a man that you were never scheduled to fight. It’s like saying you got turned down by a girl who you never even hit on. Me and Dana and Hunter have never sat down and talked about Tom Aspinall,” Jones told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“He’s never been on my radar. Never. Just a moment ago it was him and Sergei that was fighting and Sergei could be in this position right now and I would still be in the same place.”

Jones (27-1) has always had to answer questions about the next challenge before he gets through the fight at hand. He said he’s never seen any other fighter have to deal with that before.

“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I think what it is, is being so good at what I do. It’s just almost never enough. I’m very aware that Tom Aspinall is making more headlines than Stipe. It’s just the way that it is with me,” he said.

“When I win there’s always an excuse. It’s an interesting place to be in and it’s hard to compare to any other fighter.”

The champion said he understood why fans want to see him fight Aspinall and unify the belts, but in his mind there’s nothing to gain from beating someone like the interim champ.

“I get that Tom is an exciting fighter. I get that finally after 16 years we found somebody who’s seven years younger than me and 30 pounds bigger than me. Like we finally found someone who may give me a great challenge, and everyone wants to see it so bad,” he said.

“For me it’s like what’s in it for me? He changes nothing if I beat him. Beating Tom is just like beating Cyril Gane. Has a whole country behind him, he’s hot right now, what happens to me after I beat him, nothing changes for me.”

So will we ever see Jones vs. Aspinall to unify the titles and declare an undisputed heavyweight champion?

“He does nothing for me. If you’re a person that wants to see me really challenged then I get it. Seven years younger, 35 pounds bigger than me. I get it. Jon’s so good we finally found someone way younger and way bigger than him. I get that narrative,” he said.

“If I’m being completely honest I feel like Tom’s been such an assh*le that I don’t want to do business with him. He’s just an assh*le.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Jon Jones above. He defends his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on Saturday night.

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