Jon Jones has accomplished so much in his career which has led to many believing that he is the greatest to ever do it.
However, there were two things that the GOAT was yet to tick off the bucket list heading into UFC 309, headlining at the world's most famous arena and defending the UFC heavyweight title.
He did both successfully in the main event last night after dominating the former two-time champion Stipe Miocic before stopping him in the third round.
In his post-fight interview, Jones gave Miocic, who announced his retirement after the fight, his props as one of the best heavyweights to ever step foot inside the Octagon:
"Yeah, he's really, really good. He's really tough, he's really durable. I was hitting him with some pretty decent shots and man, he just kept coming forward. I know a lot of guys that fought against Stipe before and we all have that in common. It was like fighting against the Terminator, very discouraging to hit somebody that's not reacting to it but that body shot man, no matter how tough you are, the liver's the liver."
The key to hurting and finishing his opponent was the body shots for Jones as the former light heavyweight champion applied his full arsenal of kicks before saving the best for last.
He sealed the victory at the end of the third round with a spinning back kick that folded the returning Miocic, revealing that diversifying his attack was part of the strategy coming in:
"Yeah absolutely, everyone knows that Stipe Miocic isn't the biggest heavyweight but he always comes lean and he always comes in great cardio shape and I mean, I've watched him have wars with Daniel Cormier and a lot of guys where they just rock him and sock him. He doesn't react much to getting punched in the face so our plan was to try and attack the body a little bit more. I was hoping to get him out in the first round but he hung in there."
Many believed that UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York may be the final time that we see both Jones and Miocic compete in the UFC but it looks like "Bones" has got at least one more bout left in him.
"As far as my future in the Octagon, you know, I decided that maybe I will not retire and that I have some conversations to have with Dana and Hunter and we have some negotiating to do and if everything goes right, maybe we'll give you guys what you want to see."
When Joe Rogan asked whether Jones is leaning towards a potential super fight with Alex Pereira or the heavyweight unification fight with interim champion Tom Aspinall, he said that time will tell what is next.
"I know that we have options and so I'm just going to see what Dana, Uncle Dana, wants and what Uncle Hunter wants and you guys will hear about it soon I'm sure."
Watch the full interview below:
