Stipe Miocic confirms retirement after UFC 309 loss to Jon Jones: 'I'm done, I'm hanging 'em up'
11/17/2024 12:45 PM
Off the back of his one-sided knockout loss overnight, former two-time heavyweight best, Stipe Miocic has confirmed he is retiring from combat sports with immediate effect, after his stoppage loss to Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 309.
Miocic, who entered the Octagon last night for the first time in three years, snapped a lengthy hiatus from action, and at 42-years-old, tried to become the undisputed heavyweight champion for the third time in his storied Octagon tenure.
And failing to ever get started against defending champion, Jones, Miocic almost dropped an opening round ground strikes TKO loss to the Rochester native, receiving a slew of brutal elbow strikes whilst on the canvas from the bottom.
In the third round, however, Jones spun with a massive back kick to the body of Stipe Miocic, folding the Ohio native over instantly before he was finished with more ground strikes, suffering his second straight loss.
Stipe Miocic retires following knockout loss to Jon Jones at UFC 309
And in the aftermath of his defeat, Miocic spoke with UFC color-commentator, Joe Rogan, confirming he was retiring from mixed martial arts with immediate effect — sounding happy to do so, to boot.
I’m done,” Stipe Miocic said during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan following UFC 309 overnight. “I’m hanging 'em up. I’m retiring.”
Prior to his knockout loss to Jones overnight, Miocic featured in a 2021 title rematch with Francis Ngannou, suffering a devastating second round knockout loss to the Cameroonian knockout ace.
Winning undisputed heavyweight gold twice during his promotional stint, Miocic first landed gold with a knockout win over Fabricio Werdum in Brazil back in 2016, before defending the crown with knockout wins over both Junior dos Santos, and Alistair Overeem, before a decision win over Ngannou.
And crowning himself as the undisputed heavyweight champion back in 2019, Miocic knocked out former two-weight champion, Daniel Cormier, before defending the crown in a unanimous decision win over the Hall of Famer in the pair’s trilogy rubber match.
