Jon Jones brutally knocked out Stipe Miocic inside three rounds in a fight two years in the making on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
The massive UFC 309 headliner had the enormous 6-foot shadow of Tom Aspinall hanging over it for the entirety of fight week. But before both men could focus on the interim champion and his relentless pursuit of unification, they had to worry about each other.
Jones has long been considered the greatest UFC fighter of all time, especially if you ask his promoter Dana White. But he challenged himself with perhaps the best heavyweight ever in his first defense of the title he won last March.
Jon Jones eliminates Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden
Despite his spot as a beloved two-time champion, Stipe Miocic received a bit of a boo from the loud Madison Square Garden crowd. They were clearly more supportive of New York-born Jon Jones, who was making his debut in the most famous arena in the world.
Jones then made his way to the octagon, and waiting for the clash to reach a fever pitch, Bruce Buffer's long introductions seemed to last an eternity. They eventually joined in, with Miocic pushing the pace early.
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However, Jones quickly got a tkedown and started raining down elbows from top position. Miocic defended well, especially considering his age and lack of competition, but the champion was able to apply pressure and land his big shots.
Miocic survived the first and had some success in a more cautious second round from both men. Jones was put under more pressure than expected in that second stanza, and didn't win it as clearly as he did the first in a full five-minute stand-up.
The third started with Miocic looking for the big knockout shot that wouldn't quite arrive. And finally, Jones found his range, cut his rival open and landed a right hook that caught his attention in a big way.
And Jones found the finish with a spinning back kick to the body that dropped Miocic, leading to a flurry of punches and the fight being stopped.
Jon Jones is accused of dodging interim challenger Tom Aspinall
For months, as he prepared to face Miocic, legendary two-weight world champion Jones was accused of dodging Britain's Aspinall's challenge. When he was forced out of the initially scheduled fight at Madison Square Garden last year, the Manchester native stepped in and won gold in the interim.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
The giant contender took out division bogeyman Sergei Pavlovich in a short-lived battle for the interim belt. Since then, he has even defended his gold at UFC 304 against Curtis Blaydes, banishing the demons of their previous encounter.
But Jones has regularly insisted he will never meet the 31-year-old, who was received enthusiastically by the New York faithful when he appeared on screen before the main event. And it remains to be seen what the champion's plans will be in the future.
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