Hailed by many as the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) greatest fighter of all time, outspoken Christian Jon “Bones” Jones claimed victory over Stipe Miocic in the third round of the Heavyweight Championship on Saturday (Nov. 16), bringing Jones’ career title fight wins to 16.
The fight took place in a sold-out Madison Square Garden in New York City and was attended by a host of celebrities, influencers, and President-elect Donald Trump. Accompanying Trump was House speaker Mike Johnson, Kid Rock, and some of his yet-to-be confirmed cabinet members, including Robert Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy. Before the main card started, Trump and his entourage were led to their ringside seats by UFC CEO Dana White.
Jones (37), who is a career 28-1 inside the octagon, was undefeated at the UFC’s Light Heavyweight Champion for 11 straight title defenses before vacating the belt and moving up to the UFC’s Heavyweight division in 2023—where he became champion after his first match against Ciryl Gane.
Before entering the ring on Saturday night against Jones, Miocic hadn’t fought since 2021, when he lost the Heavyweight Championship belt to Francis Ngannou. Before that fight, Miocic defended the Heavyweight title four times.
Referee Herb Dean called a stop to the fight after Jones landed a vicious spinning kick to Miocic’s liver. As a result of Jones’ kick, Miocic immediately doubled over, fell to the canvas, and was unable to defend himself from an onslaught of Jones’ punches, forcing Dean to stop the fight.
‘Jesus Loves You So Much’—Jon Jones Tells Millions of UFC Fans
During his post-fight interview, Jones told UFC ringside commentator and well-known podcaster, Joe Rogan, that his fighting talent comes from Jesus Christ and shared with the millions of UFC fans watching that “Jesus loves” them.
“While I got the moment [and] while everybody’s cheering and so happy. I want to acknowledge Jesus Christ,” Jones told the crowd. “I tell you what, man, I cannot take credit for a gift like this. I really owe it all to him.”
“And I know that there’s millions of people around the world watching right now, and I just want to let you guys know that Jesus loves you so much,” he continued. “That’s all I’ll say about that.”
Acknowledging that President-elect Trump was sitting ringside, Jones said that he wanted to say a “big thank you” for his attendance. He then led everyone in a chant of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” Jones’ last words to the audience were, “I’m proud to be a Christian American champion.”
As Jones left the ring, he presented his championship belt to Trump and shook his hand while the two briefly chatted.
