Record-Breaking UFC 309: The Fights, the Fans, and the Future
- Dillon Wall
- Nov 18, 2024
- 6 min read
Madison Square Garden erupted last Saturday night as it hosted what Dana White hailed as the venue's second-highest-grossing event of all time! The iconic arena was packed to the rafters with passionate fans witnessing history in the making. From Jon Jones’ devastating spinning back kick to finish Stipe Miocic, solidifying his heavyweight reign, to Charles Oliveira’s dominant victory over the always exciting Michael Chandler.
But, 309 wasn’t just about the fights. Dana seemed pretty excited after a record setting $16.7 million live gate and some seemingly impressive PPV numbers. It seems that Jon Jones still has a lot of pull with the fans. But, were the fans as pleased as Dana White with the event?
The Main Event of UFC 309
Jon Jones maintains his flawless record, at least in Dana White’s eyes. The first round looked grim for the veteran, Stipe Miocic. With Jones rag dolling Stipe around in a 10-8 round. The betting odds had Jones closing the show before the bell rang, but Stipe survived. In the second round, Stipe had a much better round, winning on one of the judges scorecards. Even though he was landing some decent shots, he looked very slow. It’s hard to say whether his lack of speed was from the first round beating, his 4 year hiatus, or his old age (for fighting) of 42 years.
Then, round three came and went as Jones delivered his finishing blow; a spinning back kick to the body of Miocic that sent him to the canvas. Jones showed that he’s still a force to be reckoned with and announced he reconsidered retirement in his post fight interview. Stipe, on the other hand announced that he is “hanging ‘em up.” Joe Rogan told Stipe, “you’ve had an incredible career. You’re the most accomplished heavyweight of all time. It’s been an amazing ride, and thank you for everything.”
Fighters and fans had mixed reactions to the outcome. Jones’ win only added glaze to the glazing for Dana White’s unholy obsession with his GOAT. “This guys fight IQ is off the charts… Everyone gonna admit now that he’s the pound for pound best fighter in the world?” stated Dana. Tom Aspinall, who has been linked to the buildup of this fight for his backup fighter and next in line status, was impressed by Jones’ finish, but stated that he sees holes in Jon’s game.
On the other hand, some fans weren’t as impressed by the main event like the MMA Guru, a growing MMA analyst known for his ‘pig-like’ features. He maintains the idea that the fight was too competitive for Jones and that he should’ve gotten the finish sooner. “They’re plodding around in front of each other flat footed,” said Guru. “I do think Aspinall is the best heavyweight on the planet, I think Ngannou is argument for the best heavyweight on the planet, I don’t think it’s Jones or Miocic.”
Oliveira’s Redemption. What’s next at Lightweight?
Charles Oliveira delivered a dominant performance over Michael Chandler, unlike their previous bout where both fighters had fight ending moments. But, on Saturday night, Oliveira was patient and deadly on the feet and ground alike; locking up submission attempts and devastating blows that had Chandler sprinting, literally, away. Du Bronx looked incredible, especially compared to his recent losses against Arman Tsarukyan and Islam Makhachev.
Charles Oliveira had one of the most dominant runs in the UFC, holding a 12 fight win streak over veterans like Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Tony Ferguson. With this win over Chandler, we could see Du Bronx take one more run at the title. The lightweight division has a lot of eyes on it with a lot of star potential there. And at the top of the division, Islam Makhachev has a lot of opportunities.
The lightweight division is kind of a mess right now with inconsistent fighters. Holloway just lost against Topuria, but is still in the talks for a Makhachev fight. Then, Illia Topuria has been very open about his desire for the lightweight strap- but, Uncle Dana doesn’t seem too interested in superfights right now. That leaves Tsarukyan and Oliveira, who both have losses against Islam. There’s also a lot of lightweights that are one or two fights away from that title fight. Renato Moicano is gaining a lot of steam as well as Paddy Pimblett. Fiziev and Saint-Denis have a lot of potential and Dan Hooker is always exciting.
Demetrious Johnson came out saying “this one was an absolute banger.” Johnson argued that Oliveira is a complete martial artist, stating, “I would even put him above Jon Jones right now.” His argument is that Charles will step into the fire to get a reaction out of Chandler and is a complete fighter on the ground.
Donald Trump: The Star of the Show
Donald Trump arrived at the Garden to a warm reception. Loud cheers and applause as he walked cage side with long time friend Dana White, Elon Musk, new political ally RFK Jr., and Kid Rock. Fans and fighters alike were very excited with his presence with a lot of fighters praising him after their wins, or losses in Michael Chandlers case. Most notably, Jones performed the iconic ‘Trump dance’ after his victory, giving a thumbs up to the president. In his post-fight interview, he said he is “proud to be a great American champion” and a “Christian-American champion” after thanking Donald Trump for being there. After the fight, he also gave his belt to Trump momentarily as they shared their appreciation for one another.
There was a funny moment when Trump got to the ring where he spotted Joe Rogan who undoubtedly put a lot of eyes on the president after their 3-hour interview and endorsement. Trump gave Joe a funny face as he rushed towards him arms open for a hug. After taking Oliveira to suplex city, Chandler also acknowledged the Don in his post-fight speech; he pointed at Trump and said, “all I know how to do is throw American badass caution to the wind.”
There’s a layer of political irony here as Trump lost the Garden state by 12%, but received a roaring welcome. It goes to show the MMA community leans conservative. His appearance has already made headlines, and with his recent election win, it may bring some new eyes to the sport.
The Prelims
If you turned on UFC 309 for only the main card, you may have been underwhelmed as we saw a lot of tedious fights or decision wins. Mauricio Ruffy did deliver a fun fight, going in as a -1000 favorite. But, it wasn’t without challenges as James Llontop made it competitive. Then Bo Nickal, a stunning -1100 favorite, took Paul Craig to a unanimous decision where Nickal was booed out of the octagon, although, he insisted it was a good performance. This is the second time in a row fans have been upset with his ‘boring’ performance. People may not realize that he only has 7 professional fights and was put in his main card position due to his quick and unexpected social media growth.
The early prelims were pretty exciting with back to back to back TKO’s. Oban Elliott delivered a brutal overhand in round 3. The Welsh Gangster then shouted, “who’s the man of New York City?” Ramiz Brahimaj then delivered a great TKO victory over the initially overhyped Mickey Gall. Gall had a lot of potential when he first came to the UFC, and it’s sad to see it unrealized. He will probably get cut soon. Then, Marcin Tybura added an impressive win to his resume after implementing some relentless ground and pound elbows that left a blood trail on the canvas.
To kick of the prelims, there was a competitive bout with David Onama coming in at a wild -1450 favorite. He ended up getting caught, only to drop Roberto Romero and win the decision. Jim Miller followed this with a first round guillotine and announced that he wants to call it quits at the 50 fight mark. Always a fun fighter and you love to see him win after such a long career.
Record-Breaking Financial Milestones
UFC 309 was a great night financially for the UFC. It is the second highest grossing event at the iconic Madison Square Garden, raking in $16.7 million, only being outdone by the Notorious Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. The UFC holds 7 out of 10 of the venues highest grossing events now. This goes to show that Jon Jones is still a huge name. If he does end up fighting Alex Pereira or Tom Aspinall, we can only assume the numbers will be huge.
Future of the UFC
Looking ahead, there are a lot of fights to be made. The fans seem to want Jones vs. Aspinall after the frequent “Tommy” chants at the events. Fans have began associating the duck emoji with Jones after he continues to deny Tom the opportunity to fight him, stating he is interested only in legacy fights now and what will bring in the most money. He has mentioned names like Alex Pereira, Derrick Lewis, and Curtis Blaydes while saying Aspinall is too young and needs more fights. But, let’s call it like it is; Jones doesn’t want a loss at the end of his career to tarnish his legacy like Anderson Silva or BJ Penn or Fedor. He wants to leave the organization with all the accolades, which is understandable, but not respectable. If he could pull off the win against Aspinall, it would leave little room for argument about who is the true greatest of all time.
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