Jon Jones knocks out Stipe Miocic to retain UFC title as Trump watches | UFC

Jon Jones retired Stipe Miocic with a stunning back kick to the ribs and used a series of blows to the head in the third round to retain the UFC heavyweight championship against incoming US President Donald Trump in the main event of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Jones posed and played to the crowd at the top of the octagon in front of Trump, Elon Musk, chosen by Trump to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, and Robert Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in his incoming administration.

Trump walked out to a rousing ovation in front of 20,200 fans just before the start of the pay-per-view card and appeared to bask in the excitement of the fighters who gave him props all night — including Jones.

“I want to give a big, big thank you to President Donald Trump for being here tonight,” Jones said to a roaring ovation that bled into a “USA! USA!” song.

“I’m proud to be a great American champion,” Jones said.

Considered the best fighter in the world, Jones (28-1-0; 1 NC) was the aggressor from the start, landing a series of shots to Miocic’s head in the first round. Jones showed he has plenty of fight left in the tank.

British heavyweight Tom Aspinall looms as the next challenger for Jones. Aspinall won an interim heavyweight title fight last November at the Garden. UFC CEO Dana White had promised Aspinall, who chatted with Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, would challenge the winner of the main event in a unification bout.

“As far as my future in the Octagon, I decided that I might not want to retire,” Jones said. “I know we have options.

Miocic (20-5) failed in his bid to win the heavyweight crown for a third time and immediately announced his retirement.

“I’m done,” Miocic said. “I’ll hang them up.”

His last fight was in front of the next president.

White captioned a photo he posted on social media “the boys,” which showed him with Trump, Kid Rock and Musk. Trump pumped a fist during an occasional burst of “USA! USA!” chants. He was flanked in his front row seat by White on the right and Musk on the left and politely applauded the winners of the match.

UFC fans wore red Trump hats and some waved flags emblazoned with his image during breaks in the action.

In a lightweight bout that had every fan from Kid Rock to Jordan Knight to Anthony Kiedis going wild at the finish in the fifth round, Charles Oliveira beat Michael Chandler via unanimous decision. The fight was a rematch of their fight in May 2021 when Charles Oliveira topped Chandler to win the lightweight title. Oliveira claimed another title fight with the win

The fifth round was about as good as it gets inside the octagon, highlighted by Chandler dropping Oliveira twice on his back. The 38-year-old Chandler stepped into the cage for the first time in two years, largely because he was waiting for a fight that never materialized with Conor McGregor.

“We’ve been wondering where you’ve been, Conor,” Chandler bellowed into the cage. “Come back and hit me if you can.”

McGregor has been sued by a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.

Chandler shook Trump’s hand after the fight on a card that was more laden with politics than punch.

Trump is close to White, a relationship that dates back to the UFC’s formative years before it rose to a billion-dollar promotion. New Jersey was one of the first states to embrace the UFC, and White has long credited fights at the Trump Taj Mahal with helping the company grow into a heavyweight in the sports world. White both spoke at Trump’s request at the Republican National Convention and appeared on stage at the election party.

UFC fighters spoke this week in New York with excitement about getting the chance to fight in front of Trump.

“To see Dana on stage at the election, I feel like that moment just lifted the whole sport,” Jones said. “Americans, people from all over the world were like, who’s the bald guy talking? That represents all of us.”

Bo Nickal topped Paul Craig by unanimous decision in a welterweight bout, after which he crouched down to talk to Trump. Nickal later said he wanted to play golf with Trump

Trump threw up his arms when he saw UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan. Trump and Rogan embraced and shared a few words before the opening of the main card.

Trump sat down before the election for a three-hour interview on Rogan’s podcast. Rogan helped encourage on the podcast some of Trump’s false claims about voting, voter fraud and his loss in the 2020 presidential election.

Rogan endorsed Trump for president.

Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, and House Speaker Mike Johnson also attended.