Jones knocks out Miocic to retain UFC heavyweight crown

Jon Jones pulled off a stunning knockout of Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, folding his opponent with a spinning back-kick to the body to cement his stats as arguably the greatest fighter of all time as he retained his heavyweight belt.

The 37-year-old American looked fully in control throughout the main event at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night (Sunday AEDT), preventing his opponent from leveraging his boxing skills and finishing with a brutal heel to the body that left Miocic on the canvas clutching his ribs.

"That body shot, man, no matter how tough you are, the liver's the liver," a jubilant Jones said in the cage following his victory.

After a cautious opening minute, former light heavyweight champ Jones took Miocic down with a superbly timed trip and trapped him before raining down elbows as he dominated the rest of the round.

Keen not to get taken down again, Miocic was hesitant as he tried to manage the distance, but Jones was able to measure strikes to the body from his southpaw stance to keep Miocic on the back foot.

Croatian-American Miocic enjoyed some success early in the third round, but once again Jones was able to work out the puzzle, connecting with a couple of punches late in the round before his creative rotating kick ended the bout.

With Donald Trump in the audience, Jones then imitated the president-elect's campaign-trail dance as he celebrated.

In the aftermath, 42-year-old former champion Miocic said he was retiring from the sport.

In the co-main event, Brazil's Charles Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler by unanimous decision to put his name back in contention for a crack at the lightweight title he was stripped of for missing weight in May 2022.