By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Jon Jones had just knocked the breath out of the heavyweight challenger he pummeled into retirement when UFC’s greatest fighter broke out a herky-jerky dance inside the cage and dedicated the groove to President-elect Donald Trump.
As a defeated Stipe Miocic gamely tried to recover on all fours, Jones posed and played to the packed crowd on top of the cage, and even had a gift for his favorite fan in the front row — Trump for a few moments clutched the UFC heavyweight title.
Jones and Trump shook hands and capped a fight night charged with politics as much as punches inside a raucous Madison Square Garden where “USA!” chants echoed through the arena.
“I’m proud to be a great American champion,” Jones said inside the cage.
Jones finished Miocic in the fight — and for good — with a stunning spinning back kick to the ribs and used a series of blows to the head in the third round to get the TKO win and retain the UFC heavyweight championship in front of Trump and a slew of potential administration members that helped fill the Garden.
Jones dominated at UFC’s fourth-highest grossing event of all time — topping $16.6 million — with Elon Musk, picked by Trump to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, and Robert Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in his incoming administration also in the house.
“I want to say a big, big thank you to President Donald Trump for being here tonight,” Jones said to a roaring ovation that bled into a “USA! USA!” chant.
Hours earlier, Trump walked out to a rousing ovation in front of 20,200 fans just before the start of the pay-per-view card and seemed to bask in the thrill of the fighters who throughout the night gave him props — including Jones.
Widely considered the best fighter in the world, Jones (28-1-0; 1 NC) was the aggressor from the start and landed a series of shots to Miocic’s head in the first round. Jones bloodied Miocic under his right eye and showed he had plenty of fight left in the tank.
British heavyweight Tom Aspinall looms as the next challenger for Jones. Aspinall won a fight for the interim heavyweight title last November in the Garden. UFC CEO Dana White had promised Aspinall, who chatted with Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, would challenge the winner of the main event in a unification bout.
“As far as my future in the octagon, I decided that maybe I will not retire,” Jones said. “I know that we have options.”
The 42-year-old Miocic (20-5) failed in his bid to win the heavyweight crown for a third time and the Ohio firefighter who fought for the first time since March 2021 immediately announced his retirement.
“I’m done,” Miocic said. “I’m hanging ‘em up. I’m retiring. Thank God.”
His last fight was in front of the next president.
White captioned a photo he posted on social media “the boys” that featured him with Trump, Kid Rock and Musk. Trump pumped a fist during an occasional outbreak of “USA! USA!” chants. He was flanked in his front-row seat by White on his right and Musk on his left and politely applauded the fight winners.
UFC fans wore red Trump hats and some waved flags emblazoned with his image during breaks in the action.
In a lightweight bout that made every fan from Kid Rock to Jordan Knight to Anthony Kiedis go wild at the finish in the fifth round, Charles Oliveira beat Michael Chandler via unanimous decision. The fight was a rematch of their May 2021 fight when Charles Oliveira topped Chandler to win the lightweight title. Oliveira staked his claim to another title fight with the win
The fifth round was about as good as it gets inside the octagon highlighted by Chandler dropping Oliveira twice on his back. The 38-year-old Chandler stepped inside the cage for the first time in two years, in large part because he waited for a fight that never materialized with Conor McGregor.
“We’ve been wondering where you’ve been, Conor,” Chandler bellowed in the cage. “Come back and beat me if you can.”
McGregor has been sued by a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
Trump is tight with White, a relationship that dates to UFC’s formative years before its rise into a billion-dollar promotion. New Jersey was one of the first states that embraced UFC and White has long credited fights at the Trump Taj Mahal for helping the company grow into a heavyweight in the sports world. White both spoke at Trump’s request at the Republican National Convention and appeared on stage at the election party.
UFC fighters spoke this week in New York with excitement about earning the chance to fight in front of Trump.
“To see Dana up on stage at the election, I feel like that moment just elevated the whole sport,” Jones said. “Americans, people from around the world were like, who’s the bald-headed dude talking? That represents all of us.”
Bo Nickal topped Paul Craig by unanimous decision in a welterweight fight, then crouched to speak to Trump.
“I showed him my golf swing, asked him how it looked,” Nickal said. “He said it needs work.”
Trump threw his arms open when he spotted UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan. Trump and Rogan embraced and shared a few words before the opening bout of the main card.
Trump sat ahead of the election for a three-hour interview on Rogan’s podcast. Rogan helped encourage on the podcast some of Trump’s false claims about voting, election fraud and his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
Rogan endorsed Trump for president.
Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also attended.