Jon Jones sent Stipe Miocic into retirement 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 from US President-elect Donald Trump in the main event of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening.

Jones posed and played to the crowd atop the octagon for Trump, Elon Musk, Trump’s pick to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, and Robert Kennedy Jr, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services to lead 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 seemed to bask in the excitement of the fighters who gave him props all night long — including Jones.

“I want to thank President Donald Trump for being here tonight,” Jones said to a thunderous ovation that culminated in a “USA!” USA!” sing.

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

Widely 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 there was still plenty of fight left in the tank.

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

“As far as my future in the octagon goes, I’ve decided that I may not 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 for the next president.

White captioned a photo he posted on social media “the boys” showing him with Trump, Kid Rock and Musk. Trump clenched his fist during an occasional outburst of “USA! USA!” chants. Flanked in his front row by White on his right and Musk on his left, he politely applauded the winners of the fight.

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

In a lightweight fight that had every fan from Kid Rock to Jordan Knight to Anthony Kiedis going wild at the finish in the fifth round, Charles Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler by unanimous decision. The fight was a rematch of their May 2021 fight when Charles Oliveira defeated Chandler to win the lightweight title. Oliveira staked his claim for a new title fight with the victory

The fifth round was about as good as it gets in the octagon, highlighted by Chandler dropping Oliveira on his back twice. 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 would never happen with Conor McGregor.

“We were wondering where you were, Conor,” Chandler roared into the cage. “Come back and beat 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 hands with Trump after the fight on a card that was more charged with politics than punches.

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

UFC fighters spoke enthusiastically in New York this week about earning the opportunity to fight for Trump.

“To see Dana on stage at the election, I feel like that moment really galvanized the entire 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 defeated Paul Craig by unanimous decision in a welterweight bout and then leaned over to talk to Trump. Nickal later said he wanted to play golf with Trump

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

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

Rogan supported Trump for president.

Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, and House Speaker Mike Johnson were also in attendance.