Tag: Jon Jones

Daniel Cormier: UFC 309 showed that Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic ‘were not on the same level’

Daniel Cormier thinks Jon Jones showed that he’s levels above Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] showed that he’s levels above [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] at UFC 309.

Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) retained his heavyweight title by finishing Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) with a spinning back kick to the body in Saturday’s main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Miocic was almost stopped in Round 1 when Jones took him down and landed big ground and pound. Jones systematically broke him down throughout the fight before getting the finish in Round 3.

“From the very start of this fight, it was very apparent that these two were not on the same level,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “From Round 1, Jon Jones had a 10-8 round. He started the fight with a beautiful kick to the middle, jabs at Stipe Miocic, takes him down with what was a sick takedown.”

Cormier thinks the damage Miocic took on the ground early set the tone for the rest of the fight, where he slowed down drastically.

“It looked like Stipe expected something, and he got something completely different,” Cormier said. “It was a wipeout. It really was a wipeout. And while I was surprised, I knew that this fight could go one of two ways: It could be very close, it could be very competitive, or it could be one-sided. Tonight we got option 2, the one-sided fight where Miocic didn’t get much accomplished.”

Cormier did take the time to praise his former rival, crediting him for what he’s achieved throughout his career.

”This dude proves time and time again, man, how good he is, and I truly believe a lot of it is due to the hard work, the fight IQ, and the toughness, the durability that he possesses inside the octagon,” Cormier said. “It does not matter what I feel about Jon Jones in life. I do respect him tremendously, immensely, as a fighter. He does a lot of the right things when he’s inside that octagon, and that has led to him having more success than anyone has had.

“This guy has defended titles, and over the course of three generations of fighters. That was it for that generation. Stipe was it for that generation. … He has defended this belt over three generations. So no matter what you feel about him, it’s very apparent that you have to respect him and the skills that he possesses in the octagon. He has once again defended a belt and stays UFC champion.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: UFC 309 fallout, Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall, Paul-Tyson, more

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel discusses Jon Jones’ win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jake Paul’s victory over Mike Tyson, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] has made the heavyweight division quite interesting, to say the least. The living legend returned to the cage Saturday, successfully defending his UFC heavyweight title against [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] in the main event of UFC 309. Now it seems Jones has little to no intention of unifying the belt with interim champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], and is calling for a bout against fellow star and light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]. What happens now? Will Jones give in and fight Aspinall, or will he retire from MMA? We discuss and analyze everything surrounding the UFC 309 main event.
  • Jones wasn’t the only one who made headlines at UFC 309, which also saw [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] defeat [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] in their highly anticipated rematch; [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] continue his unbeaten run in MMA; [autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag] follow up on an impressive UFC debut; and much more. We discuss and highlight some of the other key results outside the UFC 309 main event.
  • Netflix debuted its first live sports event with a boxing match between popular influencer [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] and 58-year-old former champion [autotag]Mike Tyson[/autotag]. The event left plenty to discuss – some good, some bad. We react to Paul’s win over Tyson, along with Netflix’s jump into live sports.
  • To close out the show, we review some of the smaller news items outside the two big weekend events, including the booking of [autotag]Shavkat Rakmonov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag], which serves as the new co-main event of UFC 310; the return of [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag], who fills in for Machado Garry to fight [autotag]Joaquim Buckley[/autotag] in the main event of UFC on ESPN 63 on Dec. 14; and the implementation of the old UFC gloves – sort of.

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Tom Aspinall on Jon Jones’ UFC 309 finish of Stipe Miocic: ‘I definitely see openings’

Tom Aspinall gained confidence after watching Jon Jones retain his heavyweight title at UFC 309.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] gained confidence after watching [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] retain his heavyweight title at UFC 309.

Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) was in attendance for Jones’ spinning back kick finish of Stipe Miocic in Saturday’s main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. He weighed in as a backup for the fight, but his services were not needed.

Aspinall expected Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) to win, but admits not necessarily in that fashion.

“It was, as you American guys say, by design,” Aspinall said during the ESPN MMA post-fight show. “It was exactly what I thought. It was exactly what I thought would happen. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure if Jon could finish him. I thought maybe it’s going to be a five-rounder, at that kind of pace – Jon picking him off, Jon keeping his range, Jon walking him backwards, Jon mixing up the attacks between the head, the body, the legs, the spinning back kicks to the body, the wrestling.

“He does it all incredibly well, and I think to beat Jon Jones, the most important thing you need is good eyes, good reactions, quick reactions and in all honestly, Stipe Miocic just didn’t have that at 42 years old.”

Interim heavyweight champion Aspinall, who hopes to be next in line for a title unification bout, likes how he matches up with Jones.

“I am so happy that I got to see an up-close version of what Jon Jones looks like at 37, 38 years old and on the back end of his career,” Aspinall said. “And I’m very satisfied. The speed, just the speed … I don’t want to say too much (before we might fight).

“Absolutely, (I see takedowns). I see everything. Whether I can do it in there – Jon Jones is one of the best to ever do it, arguably the best, arguably the greatest of all time, as Dana White says, as Jon Jones says himself. But I definitely see openings. Whether I can do it or not, I don’t know. But from the outside looking in, I think I can.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Mick Maynard’s Shoes: What’s next for Jon Jones after UFC 309 title defense?

The only fight to make after UFC 309 is Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall, but will the UFC be able to get it done?

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] proved to be far too much for Stipe Miocic in the UFC 309 main event, and he left with the heavyweight championship still in his possession after Saturday’s event at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) returned from a 20-month injury layoff to run through former two-time champion Miocic (20-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) en route to a third-round TKO finish by spinning back kick to the body. It was a largely one-sided contest, and one that felt more like a roadblock in the career of “Bones” to get the fights the public is truly demanding.

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The majority of that demand surrounds the desire to see Jones unify the title with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. In almost any other situation, it would be a layup to make that fight happen. However, Jones’ resistance to the matchup has complicated the situation and left many questions about how things will unfold.

What is most likely to happen? What will happen? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on Jones’ future after UFC 309.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Dana White: Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall will ‘probably be the biggest fight we’ve ever done’

Jon Jones may claim Tom Aspinall lacks notoriety, but UFC CEO Dana White clearly thinks otherwise.

NEW YORK – [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] may claim [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] lacks notoriety, but UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] clearly thinks otherwise.

After Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) dispatched of Stipe Miocic (20-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) by third-round TKO on Saturday at UFC 309 to defend the heavyweight championship, White has a strong craving to see a unification bout with interim titleholder Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who has been campaigning hard to get a fight with “Bones.”

Unfortunately for Aspinall, though, Jones thinks he’s “an asshole” who is “annoying.” Jones said both before and after UFC 309 that he has no interest in fighting Aspinall and would rather vacate the belt than give the Brit an opportunity to compete against him.

The only thing that would open the door in Jones’ mind is if the UFC offered him “f*ck you money,” but did not share a specific number. White said Jones will be properly compensated, and displayed only confidence a deal will get done. And if it does, White thinks it will be an all-time event.

“It would be the biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history, by a long shot,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference. “It’s going to be the biggest heavyweight fight ever. And it’ll probably be the biggest fight we’ve ever done.”

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By which metric White defines for the “biggest fight” is unclear. He could be referring to live gate, pay-per-view sales, general global interest or another variable, but the assurance behind his comments was encouraging to those pining to see the fight.

Offshore opening odds for a potential Jones vs. Aspinall fight have Jones as a slight betting underdog. If that held, it would be the first time Jones would be an underdog in a fight since early 2009. He was an underdog in his first two UFC fights against Andre Gusmao and Stephan Bonnar, but never has been less than roughly at least a 2-1 favorite in every fight since then.

White said he loves Jones being pitted in a position of doubt. White has been Jones’ sternest supporter in recent years, touting him as the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter and best combat sports athlete in history.

The UFC boss was impressed with what he saw from Jones against Miocic, and White is highly intrigued about how Jones would approach a fight with Aspinall.

“He’s got the highest fight IQ – he’s like f*cking Elon Musk in the octagon,” White said. “This guy is brilliant in there, and the things he pulls off (are amazing). … I don’t know what he’ll do with Aspinall.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Jon Jones doubles down on Alex Pereira callout, needs ‘f*ck you money’ to consider Tom Aspinall

Jon Jones wants Alex Pereira, and not Tom Aspinall, following his heavyweight title defense at Saturday’s UFC 309.

NEW YORK – The UFC is going to need a lot of convincing if they intend to put on a title unification bout between [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].

Jones doubled down on wanting his next fight to be against UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira [/autotag], and not interim heavyweight titleholder Aspinall following his successful return to the octagon. Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) defended his heavyweight crown this past Saturday by stopping Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in the main event of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden.

Traditionally, with an interim champion in place, a title unification bout would follow and be the first order of business in the division, but Jones isn’t interested.

“I’m not really worried about the Tom fight. I’m worried about the Pereira fight,” Jones said at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference. “That’s what I want to do. I think if the UFC wants to have me back, then I think that’s the fight they’ll make. I’ve been really clear about my intentions. That’s what I want.

“I just feel like anybody would understand at this point. I’ll retire the heavyweight belt if I have to. … Tom can have the heavyweight championship. I don’t really care about it.”

Jones did offer a glimmer of hope for those wanting to see him vs. Aspinall. Although he doesn’t like the Englishman personally, and doesn’t see him fit for his legacy, Jones said he could be persuaded into it.

“I just don’t like him, and at the end of the day, if I give him the opportunity to fight me, I want to be so compensated,” Jones explained. “I want that f*ck you money. Honestly. That’s just what it is. That’s just what it is. My life is perfect without him. I don’t need him at all, and he needs me, and that’s a good place to be in a negotiation.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Tom Aspinall reveals reason for confidence in Jon Jones UFC title unification fight next

Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall believes he’s next up for champion Jon Jones following UFC 309.

Interim UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] believes he’s next up [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] after receiving a signal from the UFC brass.

After stopping Stipe Miocic with a vicious spinning back kick to the body in the main event of UFC 309, Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) hopped on the mic with Joe Rogan and revealed he plans to continue fighting, halting rumors of retirement.

Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who was tabbed as the backup option for the fight, watched Jones handle business from cageside, and also listened closely to Jones’ words on the mic. When he heard his name mentioned, Aspinall said he locked eyes with Dana White and Hunter Campbell.

“When Jon Jones was doing his speech, I was looking directly at the UFC brass, Dana and Hunter,” Aspinall said on the ESPN post-fight show. “Both of them turned to me at the same time and pointed at me and winked. At the same time. So to me, that says there’s something big in the pipeline.”

After being present all fight week, not knowing if his services as a backup fighter would be needed at the last moment, Aspinall leaves New York with more confidence that the next time he and Jones step into the octagon, it will be to unify the heavyweight title.

Combined with White’s insistence that the winner of the UFC 309 main event would face Aspinall next, the Englishman feels he’s in a good place to get the opportunity to prove he’s the best heavyweight in the world.

“This is massive,” Aspinall said. “This is potentially one of the biggest fights in MMA right now. If that doesn’t interest Jon Jones, then I don’t know what else we can do. Everybody knows that this is the fight to make. This is the fight the people want. This is the fight the UFC wants, this is the fight the fans want, and this is the fight that has to happen now.”

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UFC 309 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Jon Jones leads card in potential final bout

Jon Jones’ $42,000 led the Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts for UFC 309 in New York.

NEW YORK – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 309 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $262,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 309 took place at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 309 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]: $42,000
[autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]James Llontop[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]David Onama[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Roberto Romero[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Jhonata Diniz[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Mickey Gall[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Ramiz Brahimaj[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bassil Hafez[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Oban Elliott[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Eduarda Moura[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Veronica Hardy[/autotag]: $6,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,543,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $30,280,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Dana White reacts to Jon Jones’ vicious TKO win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309

UFC CEO Dana White shares his thoughts on Jon Jones’ heavyweight title defense at Saturday’s UFC 309.

NEW YORK – After months of claiming [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] to be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] finally feels his point was proven.

Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) defended his UFC heavyweight title against former champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in the main event of UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden. It was a dominant showing that ended with Jones landing a spinning back kick to the body to put away Miocic in the third round of their contest.

With the win, Jones not only defended his heavyweight belt and cemented himself as arguably the greatest fighter in the sport’s history but also proved that he’s the best fighter today – at least according to White.

“This guy’s fight IQ is off the charts,” White told reporters at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference. “Everybody going to admit now he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world?

“And let me tell you, this thing had upset written all over it, too. All the talk about Jon Jones, Stipe seemed pissed, focused, and he came here to win. He looked good, he was physically in great shape, and the list goes on. Jon picked him apart. … He looked incredible. I just don’t know how any of you guys don’t see how he’s the greatest fighter in the history of f*cking people fighting.”

As far as what’s next, Jones didn’t lean towards any direction in terms of opponent, but he definitely didn’t retire and mentioned he’d like to re-negotiate his contract with the UFC brass.

White, who believes Jones vs. Tom Aspinall would be the greatest heavyweight fight in MMA history, is not worried about the potential negotiation with Jones, and is confident he can get a title unification done.

“I got Tom waiting outside for me right now,” White said. “You let Jon do Jon. Jon is going to disappear. Not only won’t you hear about him, and neither will I, but then he’ll resurface, he’ll call, and we’ll get it done.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Video: Jon Jones busts out Donald Trump dance at UFC 309… in front of Donald Trump

At UFC 309, Jon Jones won and then busted out the Donald Trump dance in front of Donald Trump.

UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] busted out “The Donald Trump” following his title defense over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, as the president-elect looked on from just a few feet away.

Trump seemed to approve of Jones’ moves, as he shared a moment with “Bones” outside the cage shortly after the fight.

The event, which took place Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York was largely Trump-centric, with a walkout, highlight package, a reaction cam, and repeated references.

Check out video of the dance sequence below:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.