In New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Jon Jones defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 to retain the heavyweight belt and become just the fourth fighter in UFC history to defend a belt in two weight classes.
In the co-main event, Charles Oliveira bested Michael Chandler in their five-round bout by unanimous decision.
Preliminary Card
UFC 309 marked the first fight card since the UFC announced the return to the old gloves, which hadn’t been used since June. The change came after the UFC sought a way to reduce eye pokes, but data suggested the new gloves had no effect.
Many fans also claimed the new gloves reduced knockouts in the six months since their implementation — which the preliminary card’s results may have proven.
In the night’s second bout, Oban Elliott landed a right hand in the third round that dropped Bassil Hafez. Elliot proceeded to destroy on the ground and secured the win, along with a Performance of the Night bonus. Elliott won all three of his UFC fights and looks to enter the rankings within his next few.
The next fight saw Ramiz Brahimaj knock out Mickey Gall within the first round, garnering Brahimaj a Performance of the Night bonus as well.
Marcin Tybura bounced back after a first-round loss in his last fight, earning a doctor’s-stoppage win over Jhonata Diniz after landing a flurry of elbows at the end of the second round. Currently ranked ninth in the heavyweight division, Tybura can once again look higher up the rankings for his next fight.
Jim Miller secured a record-extending 27th UFC win in his 45th fight overall. At 41 years old, he showed no signs of old age. He submitted Damon Jackson within a round, but neither veteran retired after the fight. Miller asked for five more UFC fights so he could reach 50, which drew the frenzied support of the sold-out crowd.
The final prelim fight was scheduled for Chris Weidman against Eryk Anders, but it was announced at the broadcast’s start that Anders withdrew from the fight. Though the reason was not immediately clear, Anders later revealed he contracted food poisoning the night before and was unable to fight.
Main Card
Mauricio Ruffy kicked off the main card in a catchweight bout against James Llontop. Ruffy’s exciting style was present, landing cleanly throughout, but Llontop stuck with it and unexpectedly brought the fight to a decision. Ruffy secured the win and continued the incredible run of the Fighting Nerds gym in the UFC. The rising star will likely face better competition soon, but he looks promising thus far.
The card’s featured fight saw undefeated Bo Nickal take on jiu-jitsu specialist Paul Craig. Despite the combined grappling accolades between the two, the fight did not see a takedown attempt. Instead, Nickal controlled the center, with both fighters landing few and far between. The lack of action drew the ire of the crowd, and Nickal was booed after winning via decision.
Nickal will probably fight in the rankings next, but the performance was lackluster. He’s one of the most decorated collegiate wrestlers of this generation, so his striking has to improve if he wants to find success in a stacked middleweight division.
The co-main event was a rematch between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira, the latter of whom won the first matchup. Oliveira controlled Chandler from the top position for the majority of the first three rounds.
Throughout the fight, Chandler appeared to commit multiple infractions. Oliveira looked like he was poked in the eye and claimed Chandler was grabbing the fence and the inside of his gloves. Chandler also landed many strikes to the back of Oliveira’s head, but Chandler avoided punishment for the entire fight.
Down four rounds to one, a flurry of strikes was not enough to secure Chandler the victory –– Oliveira won by unanimous decision. He looks to the champion Islam Makhachev next, who defeated him in 2022 to win the title.
Stipe Miocic made his first walk to the Octagon since 2021 in the card’s main event against heavyweight champ Jon Jones.
With the interim champion Tom Aspinall in attendance, Jones faced the eighth-ranked contender instead. The buildup to the fight saw shots fired back and forth between Jones and Aspinall. Aspinall claimed that Jones was scared to fight him, and Jones said in an interview that Aspinall was a “nobody.”
The champ made easy work of Miocic, who, at 42 years old, had trouble moving his feet and throwing quick punches after the second round. The fight stopped in the third round when Jones, whose five-year age advantage showed throughout the fight, landed a spinning back kick that caught Miocic right in the ribs. Miocic crumpled over and failed to defend himself.
In his Octagon interview, Jones said he’d wait and see what the UFC wanted him to do next. In the post-fight press conference, however, he said he would not fight Aspinall and would rather vacate the belt to fight light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira.
Miocic retired after the fight, leaving the UFC as arguably the greatest heavyweight in the promotion’s history.
UFC fans are split — some think Jones has accomplished enough in the promotion to deserve the right to pick and choose fights, but others think he should still be obligated to fight the interim champion.
Given his comments after UFC 309, it seems unlikely that we will get the Aspinall matchup in the future.