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

November 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Jon Jones (red gloves) fights Stipe Miocoic (blue gloves) in the heavyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

November 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Jon Jones (red gloves) fights Stipe Miocoic (blue gloves) in the heavyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Daniel Cormier believes Jon Jones showed he’s levels above Stipe Miocic 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 nearly 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.

“Right from the start of this fight, it was very clear 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, runs into Stipe Miocic, takes him down with what was a sick takedown.”

Cormier believes 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 even though I was surprised, I knew this game 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 accomplish much.”

Cormier took time to praise his former rival, crediting him for what he has achieved throughout his career.

”This guy proves time and time again, man, how good he is, and I really think a lot of that is because of the hard work, the fight IQ and the toughness, the durability that he possesses inside the octagon. Cormier said: “It doesn’t matter how I feel about Jon Jones in life. I respect him tremendously, tremendously, as a fighter. He does a lot of the right things when he’s inside that octagon, and that’s led to , that he has been more successful than anyone has been.

“This guy has defended titles, and over three generations of fighters. It was for that generation. Stipe was for that generation… He’s defended this belt over three generations. So no matter how you feel about him, it is very clear that you have to respect him and the ability he possesses in the octagon.He has defended a belt again and remains a UFC champion.

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For more on the card, visit the MMA Junkies event hub for UFC 309.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Cormier: UFC 309 showed Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic ‘were not on the same level’