On Saturday, the UFC headed to The Big Apple for a clash between two of the sports biggest all time stars. 

Madison Square Garden hosted a massive Heavyweight title clash between current champion Jon Jones, and former champion and consensus greatest Heavyweight of all time, Stipe Miocic.

I will spare you my thoughts on Jon Jones’s current title run for now … That will have to wait for another article. What I will say is that he defeated Stipe Miocic to defend his UFC Heavyweight title in convincing fashion at UFC 309.

Jones, who many consider to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, used all of the weapons he is famous for to dispatch of Miocic over the course of three rounds, before finishing him with a spinning back kick to the body, the first time such a finishing sequence has ever happened in a title fight.

Jones’s long frame and reach have helped him dominate multiple weight classes, and his experience at Light-Heavyweight has translated to Heavyweight very well. Fighters like Stipe Miocic rarely have to deal with fighters attacking the body with kicks like Jones did. There is simply less finesse in the Heavyweight division … Something that Jones brings a lot of.

As for Stipe, his message was short when asked by Joe Rogan what came next for the former champ … “I’m done, I’m hanging em up. I’m retiring, thank God.”

In the co-main event of the evening, Charles Olivera dominated a scrappy and exciting Michael Chandler in the event’s Fight of the Night. 

“Dominated” might not be the right words to describe what happened, since the fight ended with all the momentum heading towards Chandler, but the first four rounds of the fight were all on the side of the Brazilian finishing machine, who won the last contest between the two fighters by KO, which is one of the twenty notches on Olivera’s record for most finishes in UFC history.

On this night though, he couldn’t add to that record, as Chandler fought a bit less recklessly than usually, though he was in danger for most of the fight, as Olivera continued to pressure him against the fence with his striking, and threatened submissions from the back position.

The fun however, came in round 5, when Chandler started to land some meaningful damage on Olivera, dropping him before losing the position and finding Olivera on his back once again. The last moments of the fight saw Chandler launching himself into the air and onto the canvas multiple times with Olivera draped on his back in an attempt to knock out the former UFC Lightweight Champion. It was great stuff indeed.

Olivera will likely find himself in a title shot after the winner of Islam Makhachev vs Arman Tsarukyan is decided, and Chandler remains hopeful that he will one day get the fight with Connor McGregor that he has waited many years for.

And here’s what happened with the rest of the card: 

• Bo Nickal stayed undefeated in the UFC after a decision victory over Paul Craig that felt underwhelming given the prospects massive odds to win.
• Viviane Araújo sucessfully completed the upset decision win over Karine Silva after rallying in the third round.
• Maurico Ruffy showcased his powerful striking in a decisive route of James Llontop, who barely managed to stay alive throughout the fight.
• Marcus McGhee stayed perfect since entering the UFC with a unanimous decision win over Johnathan Martinez.
• Chris Weidman and Eryk Anders had their bout cancelled last minute.
• Jim Miller, who has fought and won more times than anybody in UFC history, added another name to the list when he finished Damon Jackson via guillotine choke. Jackson decided to retire after the fight concluded.
• David Onama defeated a debuting Roberto Romero via unanimous decision in an exciting back and fourth striking matchup.
• Marcin Tybura defeated the once undefeated Jhonata Diniz via doctors stoppage after opening him up with elbows in the first round.
• Ramiz Brahimaj got a performance bonus for his KO of Mickey Gall.
• Oban Elliott got a performance bonus as well for his KO of Bassil Haffez
• Eduarda Moura opened the night with a unanimous decision win over Veronica Hardy.

Jake Smith

11/17/2024

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