UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic: Full results
UFC 309 is in the books. The pay-per-view event took place at the iconic Madison Square Garden and featured 12 fights in seven weight classes with a legacy-defining title fight at the helm of affairs. This article recaps the fights and explores the UFC 309 full results.
In the main event, Jon Jones attempted his first heavyweight title defense against former two-time title holder Stipe Miocic.
Unfortunately for Miocic, the lack of experts' confidence in his chances due to age and a long layoff proved right. Jones started cautiously and landed a few body kicks that caught Miocic's attention early. The champion got the takedown with a trip and controlled Miocic on the ground with vicious elbows. The former champion appeared hesitant and stayed committed to defense in Round 2.
Wary of the former champion's power, Jones refused to engage in exchanges and stayed at a comfortable range landing kicks and jabs. Miocic's punches rarely found the mark as Jones took his head off the center line, presumably due to the speed difference.
The body shots systemically sapped Miocic’s cardio and movement. As the former two-time champion appeared to be opening with his offense, Jones closed the show with a spinning back kick to the body. Miocic took a knee and Jones followed up to the ground with strikes, prompting the referee to stop the action.
With the win, Jones became the fourth champion in UFC history to defend his title in two weight classes after Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, and Henry Cejudo.
In the co-main event, No.2-ranked lightweight contender Charles Oliveira took on No.7-ranked Michael Chandler in a five-round rematch. The pair first competed at UFC 262 in 2021 when Oliveira scored a second-round TKO win to capture the vacant lightweight title.
Unlike their first meeting, both men started on a cautious note, occasionally entering with single shots. Oliveira grabbed a single Leg to break the tactical standoff in Round 1 and ended up on the mat in a leg lock position. To his credit, Chandler avoided most of the big shots and controlled Oliveira's right leg to stop him from advancing for the rest of the round.
This became a theme of systematic destruction in subsequent rounds. 'Do Bronx' consistently backed Chandler up to the cage to land precise strikes, which opened takedown opportunities. Chandler struggled with the Brazilian's elbow strikes and submission attempts on the ground but did not allow Oliveira to have his way.
By the end of Round 4, it became evident that ‘Iron’ would need a finish to get a win. He was able to hurt the former champion on the feet and came close to getting a finish with vicious ground strikes. However, Oliveira survived the scare and made it to the final bell with effective grappling. The judges scored four rounds in Oliveira's favor, declaring him the winner by unanimous decision.
In one of the most iconic moves, Chandler walked to the center of the cage with Oliveira on his back and fell back repeatedly to shake him off. To his credit, 'Do Bronx' refused to let go of the hold until the final bell. This was similar to his explosive escape attempt in the first fight.
UFC 309 - Main card results
Wrestling prodigy and rising middleweight contender Bo Nickal took a major step up in competition to take on veteran Paul Craig. While Nickal was a massive betting favorite, it was a high-risk affair due to Craig's submission skills.
the fight largely played on the feet, presumably because both men were cautious of each other's ground game. While neither man had significant success with striking, Nickal edged past the Scottish fighter to earn a unanimous decision win.
The women's flyweight contest between No.9-ranked Viviane Araujo and No.11-ranked Karine Silva resulted in a unanimous decision victory for Araujo. Araujo established the lead early with technical striking but Silva was able to come back and hurt her with a few power shots. Despite this, Arujo found her rhythm in the later half and cruised to victory.
Meanwhile, Mauricio Ruffy and James Llontop opened the main card with a back-and-forth three-round battle. Ruffy knocked the Peruvian fighter down and had him hurt on several occasions. However, Llantop refused to go away and made the fight competitive, especially in the final round. However, judges scored the bout in Ruffy's favor, declaring him the winner by unanimous decision.
UFC 309 - Preliminary card results
No.13-ranked bantamweight Jonathan Martinez fought Marcus McGhee in the preliminary card headlining bout.
McGhee displayed superior striking and appeared to be in control for the majority of the first two rounds. Martinez's leg kicks severely compromised McGhee's ability in the second half of the fight as he seemed to struggle to strike or move around.
Despite this, Martinez could not capitalize on his opponent's vulnerability. While all three judges scored the final round in Martinez's favor, McGhee had done enough to win the first two rounds and secured a unanimous decision victory.
Elsewhere, Veteran fighter Jim Miller pulled off an impressive submission win over Damon Jackson. As Jackson spammed takedowns without masking them, Miller timed one of those to snatch a tight guillotine and forced a furious tap out of the 36-year-old as soon as they hit the canvas.
This was the 27th win (most in the promotion's history) and the 18th finish (second most in the promotion's history). Jackson, who went 1-4 in his most recent fights, left the gloves inside the octagon, announcing his retirement from the sport.
David Onama extended his win streak to three with a win over debutant Roberto Romero. The Mexican was off to a good start and dropped Onama early in Round 1. However, 'Silent Assassin' survived the early scare and dropped Romero in the closing seconds. He built on the momentum in the subsequent rounds with superior grappling and striking to earn a unanimous decision victory.
Brazil's Jhonata Diniz challenged No.9-ranked heavyweight Marcin Tybura on short notice. After getting dropped to a knee early in Round 1, Tybura responded with his wrestling to survive and reverse the position.
The Polish heavyweight secured a takedown early in Round 2 and battered Diniz with vicious elbows. The cage-side doctor inspected Diniz before the final round and ruled him unable to continue, resulting in Tybura winning by TKO.
UFC 309 - Early prelims results
The early prelims headlining bout saw Ramiz Brahimaj defeat Mickey Gall by first-round KO. The duo traded shots in the close range and a short right hand knocked Gall out upon impact. He was out before hitting the canvas and the referee stopped the fight after a couple of follow-up shots.
Meanwhile, Dana White's Contender Series standout Oban Elliott showed superior striking against Bassil Hafez. An overhand right in the opening minute of Round 3 put Hafez down and the referee waved off the action after Elliott chased him to the ground with vicious follow-up strikes.
In the first fight of the event, Brazil's Eduarda Moura snapped resurgent Veronica Hardy's three-fight win streak. Statistically, hardy landed out-struck Moura in the fight. But the Brazilian edged past her with superior grappling and ground control. This was Moura's UFC flyweight debut after she lost to Denise Gomes in June.
Check out the UFC 309 full results below:
Main card
Heavyweight - Jon Jones def. Stipe Miocic by KO (R3, 4:29) (title fight)
Lightweight - Charles Oliveira def. Michael Chandler by unanimous decision (49-46 X 2, 49-45)
Middleweight - Bo Nickal def. Paul Craig by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)
Women's flyweight - Viviane Araujo def. Karine Silva by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)
Catchweight (165 pounds) - Mauricio Ruffy def. James Llontop by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3) (Llotntop missed weight by 1.2 pounds)
Preliminary card
Bantamweight - Marcus McGhee def. Jonathan Martinez by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)
Lightweight - Jim Miller def. Damon Jackson by submission (Guillotine choke) (R1, 2:44)
Lightweight - David Onama def. Roberto Romero by unanimous decision (30-27 X 3)
Heavyweight - Marcin Tybura def. Jhonata Diniz by T/KO (Doctor's stoppage) (R2, 5:00)
Early prelims
Welterweight - Ramiz Brahimaj def. Mickey Gall by T/KO (R1, 2:55)
Welterweight - Oban Elliott def. Bassil Hafez by T/KO (R3, 0:40)
Women's flyweight - Eduarda Moura def. Veronica Hardy by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 X 2)