NEW YORK (AP) — Jon Jones sent Stipe Miocic into retirement with a stunning kickback to the ribs and delivered a series of punches to the head in the third round to defend the UFC heavyweight championship in front of President-elect Donald Trump in the main event of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Jones posed and performed for the crowd on the octagon in front of Trump, Elon Musk, who was chosen by Trump to head a recent Department of Government Efficiency, and Robert Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services in his recent administration.
Trump walked out to a rousing ovation in front of 20,200 fans shortly before the pay-per-view card began and appeared to bask in the fervor of the fighters who gave him support throughout the evening – including Jones.
“I want to say a big thank you to President Donald Trump, who is here tonight,” Jones said to a thunderous ovation that turned into “USA!” USA!” chant.
“I’m proud to be a great American champion,” Jones said.
Jones (28-1-0; 1 NC), widely considered the best fighter in the world, was the aggressor from the start, landing a series of shots to Miocic’s head in the first round. Jones showed he still had a lot of fight left in the tank.
The next challenger for Jones is British heavyweight Tom Aspinall. Aspinall won a fight for the interim heavyweight title at the Garden last November. UFC CEO Dana White had promised that Aspinall, who was in conversation with Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, would challenge the winner of the main event in a unification bout.
“As far as my future in the octagon, I have decided that I may not retire,” Jones said. “I know we have options.
Miocic (20-5) failed in his attempt to win the heavyweight crown for a third time and immediately announced his retirement.
“I’m done,” Miocic said. “I’ll hang them up.”
His last fight was in front of the next president.
White captioned a photo he posted on social media, “The Boys,” in which he appeared with Trump, Kid Rock and Musk. Trump clenched his fist as occasional shouts of “USA!” USA!” chants. Flanked in his front row seat by White to his right and Musk to his left, he politely applauded the fight winners.
UFC fans wore red Trump hats and some waved flags with his image during breaks in the action.
In a lightweight fight that made every fan from Kid Rock to Jordan Knight to Anthony Kiedis go wild, Charles Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler by unanimous decision at the end of the fifth round. The fight was a rematch of their fight in May 2021, when Charles Oliveira defeated Chandler to win the lightweight title. With the victory, Oliveira secured his right to another title fight
The fifth round was as good as it’s ever been in the octagon, highlighted by Chandler dropping Oliveira to his back twice. Chandler, 38, stepped into the cage for the first time in two years, largely because he was waiting for a fight with Conor McGregor that never materialized.
“We were wondering where you were, Conor,” Chandler roared from the cage. “Come back and hit me if you can.”
McGregor was sued by a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
Chandler shook Trump’s hand after the fight on a card that was more about politics than punches.
Trump has a close relationship with White, a relationship that dates back to the UFC’s formative years before it blossomed into a multi-billion dollar promotion. New Jersey was one of the first states to join the UFC, and White has long credited the fights at the Trump Taj Mahal for the company that has grown into a heavyweight in the sports world. White spoke both at Trump’s request at the Republican National Convention and on the election party stage.
UFC fighters spoke enthusiastically in New York this week about the chance to fight in front of Trump.
“Seeing Dana on stage at the election made me feel like that moment elevated the whole sport,” Jones said. “Americans and people around the world asked themselves, ‘Who is that talking to the bald guy?’ That represents all of us.”
Bo Nickal defeated Paul Craig by unanimous decision in a welterweight bout and then hunkered down to talk to Trump. Nickal later said he wanted to play golf with Trump
Trump spread his arms when he spotted UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan. Trump and Rogan hugged and exchanged a few words before the opening bout of the main card.
Trump did a three-hour interview on Rogan’s podcast before the election. On the podcast, Rogan helped back up some of Trump’s false claims about elections, voter fraud and his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
Rogan supported Trump for president.
Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were also in attendance.
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