Stipe Miocic called time on his MMA career in 2024, closing it out with a title fight against Jon Jones, who was already being talked about as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
It was over three years since Miocic had last competed when he stepped in to face Jones at UFC 309. The bout was promoted as a title fight main event, and it ended up being both Jones’ first and last defence of the heavyweight belt.
With Miocic coming off a long layoff and nearing 42 years old, most expected him to have a tough night. That is pretty much how it played out, with Jones stopping him via TKO in the third round.
But despite the loss, Miocic does not look back on that fight as a one-sided affair.
Stipe Miocic says he saw Jon Jones as ‘beatable’ after TKO loss
Miocic’s final appearance in the Octagon ended when Jones landed a spinning body kick, but the former champion believes he was finding some success before the finish.
Speaking with Sofascore’s A Guest and a Half, the Euclid native said he had trained specifically for that kick and felt that his preparation should have prevented the finish.
“We were going back and forth. Then he hit me with a spinning kick. I trained for that exact move. I just missed it by an inch.”
“He’s good. Really good. But he has weaknesses. I think I exposed a few. He’s beatable,” he stated.
UFC 320: Cory Sandhagen picks Chuck Liddell over Jon Jones as best American fighter
Jones is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, and many fans place him at the top of the all-time list.
However, Cory Sandhagen, who is set to fight Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 320, does not see it that way. He does not even consider Jones to be the best American fighter ever.
Instead, Sandhagen told TNT Sports ahead of UFC 320 that he would go with Chuck Liddell over Jones when discussing the USA’s all-time best fighter.
For the overall GOAT debate, though, Sandhagen went with Anderson Silva.