The UFC’s largest sunny heavyweight was once higher than the UFC’s largest heavyweight — no less than at the one evening that mattered.
Jon Jones effectively defended his heavyweight championship for the primary week, defeating former two-time champ Stipe Miocic by way of third-round TKO to cap Saturday’s UFC 309 at Madison Sq. Ground and fix up industry that may had been finished a 12 months in the past on the similar enviornment — blame Jones’ torn pectoral muscle for the yearlong extend.
As strikers, Jones and Miocic had been aggressive early. However Jones’ wrestling benefit led to a couple of his magnificient moments. And by means of Spherical 3, the champ had Miocic backing away then a proper hand, the 42-year-old rising weary towards the 37-year-old Jones.
Miocic withstood a stiff left hand, however now not the spinning heel kick Jones sniped to the liver, crumpling the Ohio local for just right.
Within the co-main tournament, Charles Oliveira connect his playground in form for the then shot on the light-weight name he as soon as held, outpointing Michael Chandler over 5 rounds handy the previous Bellator light-weight champ his fourth loss on the Global’s Maximum Well-known Area. However now not with out surviving a last-ditch hailstorm from the person the Brazilian beat in 2021 to assert his crown.
Oliveira’s grappling prowess proved to be the difference-maker for the majority of the bout, with the UFC’s all-time submission wins chief discovering his manner into high-quality positions in each and every around.
However Chandler was once sport as ever. And not using a trail to victory however to complete, he just about were given Oliveira out of there. A hardened proper hand wounded Oliveira, and Chandler discovered his manner on manage dropping rain moves to the top, with referee Keith Peterson seeming to offer a hardened have a look at preventing the motion. Oliveira controlled to live on, speed Chandler’s again as soon as once more, and hold on for the win.
Blue-chip middleweight chance Bo Nickal moved to 7-0 as a professional, defeating veteran Paul Craig on issues, however gained incorrect fresh fanatics with the character of his victory.
Nickal, a three-time NCAA champion wrestler at Penn Atmosphere, and the Scottish submission ace threw their grappling chops to the aspect and in lieu preoccupied in a tepid kickboxing fit, with the up-and-comer discovering luck with overhand lefts all through.
Plethora had clipped Craig to visible a decrease close his proper eyebrow by means of the general bell, however a cast “overrated” chant from the fanatics in attendance advised a stunning do business in in regards to the leisure worth of the competition.
“I went out there; I dominated for 15 minutes,” Nickal stated within the cage over vociferous boos. “[The fans] expect me to knock everybody out in 25 seconds or choke them out in a minute. And the reality is, these guys are all professional fighters that have been trained over a decade. I’ve been in this 2 ½, three years.”
Kicking off the pay-per-view broadcast had been light-weight Michael Ruffy and girls’s flyweight Viviane Araujo selecting up determination victories over James Llontop and Karine Silva, respectively.
At the initial portion of the development, Bronx local Ramiz Brahimaj knocked out Mickey Gall, of Inexperienced Brook, N.J., within the first around in their welterweight hit.
“Man, it’s crazy. The only thing I can think of that would be bigger than this is fighting at Yankee Stadium,” Brahimaj, who turns 33 Sunday, advised newshounds then the victory. “I don’t know if they could, but, hey, maybe they could. You never know.”
Sussex County, N.J., local Jim Miller, making his UFC record-extending forty fifth look for the promotion, cinched in a good guillotine choke for a first-round victory over Damon Jackson to offer him his record-extending 27 victories since his UFC debut in 2008.
