UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones cemented his GOAT status with a win over a fighter many consider the greatest UFC heavyweight champion, Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Jones, who was making the first defense of his heavyweight title, won the first two rounds on each of the three judges’ scorecards. Still, Jones left no doubt when he landed a spinning back kick toward the end of the third round to earn a knockout victory in only his second match at heavyweight.
“We started doing the spinning back kick (six months ago for) three days a week, and I worked that same kick from both stances three hours a week for several months,” Jones said of the kick that ended the fight.
“Bruce Lee says that he doesn’t fear the man that knows 10,000 kicks, but the man who has worked one kick 10,000 times,” he said. “It’s getting faster and more unpredictable. There’s really no way to tell when it’s coming and it’s a devastating shot. I didn’t hit Stipe’s liver. I hit him on the opposite side, but it sends shockwaves through the person’s body that can break a rib. It is just a really powerful shot. So I’m really proud of landing that shot after so many hours of working on it.”
“(Jon Jones’) fight IQ is off the charts,” UFC CEO and president Dana White said after the match. “Let me tell you what, this thing had upset written all over it too. I mean, Stipe, all the talk about Jon Jones, Stipe seemed focused. He came here to win. He looked good. He was physically in great shape. The list goes on and on. And Jon literally picked him apart. The jab was unbelievable tonight.”
I don’t want to fight dangerous up-and-comers anymore,” Jones said after the fight, referring to interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, preferring a super fight against UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
White admitted that he would prefer Jones to fight Aspinall, but if both he and Pereira want to fight each other, he is likely to make that fight.
