By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Jon “Bones” Jones pulled off another masterful performance after achieving a technical knockout (TKO) victory over Stipe Miocic to defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight belt on November 17, 2024, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Jones knocked out Miocic in the third round after hitting him with a perfect spinning back kick that landed straight to the challenger’s left ribcage followed by a series of ground-and-pound hits.
From the get-go, Jones immediately set the tone as he dominated Miocic in the stand-up fight, landing his right jabs at will while targeting the former heavyweight champion’s body with his straight kicks.
According to Jones’ camp, there strategy was to target Miocic’s body to slow him down, and that worked to perfection as the reigning heavyweight king continued to step on the gas pedal, doing more damage in the second frame of the title fight.
Despite Miocic’s clean jabs that helped him regain his confidence, Jones retaliated with a set of leg kicks that put him above the scorecard sheet at the end of the second.
It was in the third round that Jones ramped up the intensity as he opened the period with vicious right hooks, followed by his signature kick-straight combo that continued to rock Miocic.
With only 4:35 remaining in the third, Jones connected his biggest back kick that landed on Miocic’s ribcage. The moment he felt the impact, he quickly kneeled in pain, en route to an open lane of ground-and-pounds for the two-time division world champion.
Despite the walk-in-the-park performance, Jones acknowledged the former UFC champion, saying that his durability was still tough to handle throughout the fight.
Jones nearly knocked Miocic out in the first round after catching him in a full mount on-top position but the veteran striker displayed a huge heart and was able to survive the first five minutes of action.
Now fighting with more pace, Miocic tried to catch Jones off guard in the second with his signature press, but the reigning king of the division waved him off with just a single leg kick that disrupted his motion going forward.
After the successful title defense, Jones improved his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) record to 28 wins and one loss while Miocic fell to 20 wins and five losses.
During his post-fight octagon interview, Miocic confirmed that he would be hanging up his gloves for good and thanked everyone who graced the event in New York City.
