Stipe Miocic Ended His Career After the Jones Title Fight
Stipe Miocic announced his retirement after losing to Jon Jones at UFC 309 on November 16, 2024. The heavyweight championship contest at Madison Square Garden ended by technical knockout at 4:29 of the third round.
Jones controlled the final appearance
Jones took Miocic down in the first round and attacked from top position before keeping more of the second round standing. Miocic became more active in the third but could not reverse the contest’s direction.
A spinning back kick to the body dropped Miocic, and follow-up punches brought the stoppage. During his subsequent Octagon interview, the former champion confirmed that he was finished competing.
Two championship reigns defined the career
Miocic first won the UFC heavyweight belt by knocking out Fabricio Werdum in May 2016. Successful defenses followed against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou.
Daniel Cormier ended that reign in July 2018. Miocic regained the championship with a fourth-round stoppage in their August 2019 rematch, then won the trilogy fight by unanimous decision in August 2020.
A completed heavyweight record
Ngannou won their second meeting in March 2021, taking the championship from Miocic. The Jones contest became Miocic’s next and final professional appearance more than three years later.
He retired with twenty wins and five defeats, including fifteen knockout victories. His title wins, four successful championship defenses across two reigns and comeback against Cormier remained the central achievements of a career that concluded in New York.
Sources
- UFC: Jones fight sequence and retirement announcement
- UFC: championship wins, defenses and Cormier trilogy
- UFC: retirement retrospective and final record
