Stipe Miocic retires following loss to heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 309

Image: UFC

In what many expected to be fait accompli win or lose, former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic indeed called it a career following his loss to reigning champion Jon Jones at Saturday’s UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden.

Jones (pictured left) defeated Miocic (pictured right) by third round TKO in the main event after landing a heel kick to Miocic’s left rib cage that dropped him to the mat. He followed that up with ground and pound to get the victory in what was a dominant performance.

It was Jones’ first fight since winning the then-vacant title in March 2023. He was set to face Miocic at last year’s MSG show but had to pull out due to a pectoral injury.

Despite hinting he might retire, Jones told Joe Rogan after the fight that he is going to keep going and is going to talk with Dana White and Hunter Campbell about what could be next. He heavily hinted he may agree to a unification fight with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall that he had shown no interest this week in doing.

It was the 42-year-old Miocic’s first fight since March 2021 when he lost the title to Francis Ngannou. He ends his career with a 20-5 mark and two heavyweight title runs. He won his first title with a victory over Fabricio Werdum in May 2016 and broke the record for most consecutive title defense with three. He lost the title to Daniel Cormier in July 2018 and the two would fight two more times with Miocic regaining the title in the rematch and defending it in the trilogy.