Jon Jones opened a can of whoop-ass Stipe Miocic last night (Sat., Nov. 16, 2024) in the pay-per-view (PPV) main event of UFC 309 (watch highlights). He defeated the former champion from post to post, winning almost every second of the fight en route to a third-round knockout victory.

It was a master class.

“Bones” came into this match as a huge favorite, meaning it could be difficult to make an impression. Most wrote Miocic off as washed up in advance, and everyone was talking about it Tom Aspinall instead of the actual headlining fight. Despite being set in his home state of New York, fight week didn’t feel like a very pro-Jones atmosphere. It really felt like a lose-lose situation. Jones could beat Miocic (but no one cared because he’s old) or cough up his title in an upset.

Neither turned out to be the case.

Jones beat Miocic so thoroughly that it’s hard to level many complaints against him. His dominance was such that it’s easy to forget how long Miocic has been away. Jones defended his title so cleanly that even Aspinall’s cries have died down a bit, which seemed impossible just 48 hours ago.

This performance felt like a return to form for the pound-for-pound great. There were elements of his peak, which was that first round. Jones scored the slickest clinching trip of the year and then attacked his opponent with elbows from above? Can someone please pinch me and confirm that it’s not 2011 anymore.

Jones’ kicks were also downright deadly. In his last few fights – spanning many years – we’ve seen some lukewarm Jones kickboxing matches. For example, I don’t recall Anthony Smith or Thiago Santos ever being particularly injured by his kicks. In this fight, however, it was very clear that a durable and strong Miocic made every effort not to fold every time Jones jabbed his midsection.

Finally, there’s the simple fact that Jones’ jab has never looked better. The sheer speed difference helped, of course, but Jones knocked his opponent’s head back and used that tool to line up his cross. A 1-2 almost eliminated Miocic in the third! For all of Jones’s command of reach, straight punches have never been his specialty, but this was a level up in his boxing.

The problem with Jones criticism is that no one has done that ever claimed that at his best, Jones is far from the deadliest fighter we’ve ever seen. Peak Jon Jones – I always look back to his 2011 run, but you could also point to his back-to-back rematch wins at Alexander Gustafson And Daniel Cormier in 2017/2018 – was an undeniable force of nature. The arguments and criticisms against him were his shaky drug test results, his behavior outside the cage and the simple fact that Jones has looked much more human over the past five years.

This performance felt like a return to form. Jones felt like dominance was personified in the cage, and that feeling is hard to shake. It’s much easier to overlook the fact that Miocic shouldn’t have faced him when the results are so spectacular, and especially because Jones has left the door ajar for a heavyweight title unification fight.

Even Miocic’s immediate retirement in the aftermath couldn’t dim Jones’ brightness. Miocic putting down the gloves should have served as a reminder that we weren’t supposed to be impressed by beating an old man, but it’s hard to walk away from UFC 309.

For complete UFC 309 results and play-by-play, click here.