Daniel Cormier thinks Jon Jones showed that he’s levels above Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) retained his heavyweight title by finishing Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) with a spinning back kick to the body in Saturday’s main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Miocic was almost stopped in Round 1 when Jones took him down and landed big ground and pound. Jones systematically broke him down throughout the fight before getting the finish in Round 3.
“From the very start of this fight, it was very apparent that these two were not on the same level,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “From Round 1, Jon Jones had a 10-8 round. He started the fight with a beautiful kick to the middle, jabs at Stipe Miocic, takes him down with what was a sick takedown.”
Cormier thinks the damage Miocic took on the ground early set the tone for the rest of the fight, where he slowed down drastically.
“It looked like Stipe expected something, and he got something completely different,” Cormier said. “It was a wipeout. It really was a wipeout. And while I was surprised, I knew that this fight could go one of two ways: It could be very close, it could be very competitive, or it could be one-sided. Tonight we got option 2, the one-sided fight where Miocic didn’t get much accomplished.”
Cormier did take the time to praise his former rival, crediting him for what he’s achieved throughout his career.
”This dude proves time and time again, man, how good he is, and I truly believe a lot of it is due to the hard work, the fight IQ, and the toughness, the durability that he possesses inside the octagon,” Cormier said. “It does not matter what I feel about Jon Jones in life. I do respect him tremendously, immensely, as a fighter. He does a lot of the right things when he’s inside that octagon, and that has led to him having more success than anyone has had.
“This guy has defended titles, and over the course of three generations of fighters. That was it for that generation. Stipe was it for that generation. … He has defended this belt over three generations. So no matter what you feel about him, it’s very apparent that you have to respect him and the skills that he possesses in the octagon. He has once again defended a belt and stays UFC champion.”