UFC 309 bonuses and aftermath: Jon Jones and four others bag $50K, two veterans retire, PPV event makes history
Safe to say UFC 309 headlined by the much-awaited heavyweight title clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic lived up to the hype, with the event delivering Hall of Fame-worthy performances and masterclass displays of technical prowesses.
The event has turned quite lucrative for the promotion, racking up a live gate of $16.6 million with a 20,200-strong Madison Square Garden crowd in attendance. Per a report by sports personality Jed I. Goodman, UFC 309 is the second-biggest gate in MSG history and the fourth-biggest in the history of the promotion.
Check out some additional UFC 309 stats below:
One of the winners of the $50K Performance of the Night bonus was Jones, who secured a third-round TKO win over Miocic.
Jones controlled the fight from the get-go. After dominating his opponent on the ground in the opening round, 'Bones' broke down the MMA legend with a fast and accurate standup game, before closing the show in the third with a spinning back kick to the body followed by vicious ground and pound.
Check out Jon Jones' UFC 309 finish below:
'Bones' has now joined Amanda Nunes, Henry Cejudo, and Daniel Cormier as the only UFC two-division champions to have successfully defended both their titles. Oban Elliott and Ramiz Brahimaj are the other POTN winners.
Following the loss Miocic announced his retirement from the sport. During his storied career, the 42-year-old set multiple records including the most consecutive and combined title defenses in UFC heavyweight history, and the most title fights and bonus wins at the weight class.
He is widely regarded as the greatest MMA heavyweight of all time.
The Fight of the Night bonus was bagged by the five-round slugfest between co-headliners Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler, in which 'Do Bronx' emerged as the victor via unanimous decision. The Brazilian is the first UFC fighter to bag 20 performance bonuses.
Another special milestone the fight card saw was veteran fighter Jim Miller securing his 19th UFC finish. Miller submitted Damon Jackson with a guillotine choke in the first round of their prelims card bout. Jackson called it a career following the loss.
Now with 13 submissions and 19 overall finishes to his name, 'A-10' is second only to Oliveria in both categories.