This Saturday in the UFC 309 main event, Jon Jones successfully defended his heavyweight title in his controversial comeback against former champion Stipe Miocic.
When the main event of UFC 309 was announced, Jon Jones was criticized by the UFC fanbase for showing little interest in seeing Stipe Miocic return straight away in an undisputed title fight after a three-year absence from the cage.
Despite this, anticipation began to build during fight week as things got relatively heated between the two heavyweights.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Jon Jones gives a definitive answer on his retirement following UFC 309 win over Stipe Miocic
Ahead of the UFC 309 main event, both Jones and Miocic hinted at a possible retirement, making the fight even more controversial.
However, during fight week, the 37-year-old champion hinted at the potential of a superfight against UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira.
Naturally, this did not go down well with the fanbase who began to label Jones as a 'duck' as he continued to seemingly push away any prospect of facing interim champion Tom Aspinall.
At the UFC 309 pre-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White claimed that the winner's next fight would have to take place against Aspinall, halting any plans for Jones to fight the Brazilian superstar.
The greatest fighter of all time made it easy for the 42-year-old Miocic, finishing him in the third round with a spinning back body kick.
Following his win, Jones raised some hopes among the fanbase, stating that he likely won't retire and that he will attempt to begin negotiations with the UFC for a possible title unification fight against Aspinall.
“As far as my future in the Octagon goes, I've decided that I may not retire and I need to have some conversations with Dana (White) and Hunter (Campbell) and we need to do some negotiating,” Jones said. Joe Rogan in his Octagon interview.
“And if all goes well, maybe we'll give you what you want to see,” he continued.
Stipe Miocic announces his retirement after loss to Jones
Although Jones announced his plans to fight another day, Miocic announced his retirement from the sport shortly after his devastating and disappointing performance.
'I'm done. I'm hanging 'em up, I'm retiring, thank God,” Stipe told Joe Rogan.
Miocic will go down as one of the greatest UFC heavyweights of all time, and still holds the record for most consecutive title defenses in the division with three.
Someone else who did congratulate 'Bones' on his victory was former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
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'The Predator' took to social media to congratulate Jones despite their differences, stating that 'Jones looked great there'.
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