UFC309: New feats in New York

UFC309 saw a return to the iconic Maddison Square Garden in New York for the first time in 12 months.

It also saw a return to the old UFC gloves, which were replaced with the new ones in June, apparently due to fighter complaints.

This event had 12 fights, five on the main card. Seven fights went the distance, with four stoppages and one doctor’s stoppage.

TOP PERFORMER: JON JONES

Jon Jones had been out of the octagon for 20 months, and even then, he only went two minutes.

You can say the last time he had a legit fight in the octagon was four years ago. Credited, he was fighting Miocic, who is 42.

However, for almost three rounds, he never missed a beat, and even at 37, he showed why he is the p4p No1.

It was a systematic beatdown of Miocic, considered the best heavyweight in UFC’s history. The spinning backkick that ended the fight was typical of the vast array of skills Jones possesses.

TOP PERFORMER 2: JIM MILLER

The UFC leader in fights (45) and wins (27) continues to defy father time with another fight and win in his illustrious UFC career.

At the age of 41, in his sixteenth year in the UFC, he is still racking up fights and wins, this time an impressive first-round victory.

He used all his experience and grappling abilities to, within a split second, lock in a jumping guillotine on Damon Jackson.

He then dropped to the ground and forced a submission for his 21st career submission victory for the record holder.

TOP PERFORMER 3: CHARLES OLIVEIRA

Following their back-and-forth war at UFC262, when Oliveira won the vacant lightweight title and broke the record for most finishes (17).

The fans were hyped for this rematch. However, Oliveria showed his immense mma skillset to dominate Chandler.

In the fifth round, he showed toughness and resilience to withstand a Chandler onslaught and then intelligence to lock him down to end the fight.

This win could well secure a title fight for Olivera, who leads the UFC in finishes and is in the top ten for all-time fights (34) wins (23) and fight bonuses (20).

Honourable Mentions

Viviane Araujo upset the odds and bookmakers to end Karine Silva’s nine-fight win streak with a combination of strength, striking, grappling and impressive cardio against Silva, who had stopped eight of her previous nine opponents.

Ramiz Brahimaj delivered an explosive first-round knockout of veteran Mickey Gall to put himself back in the win column. Although Gall had lost his last three, Brahimaj took advantage of a name on his record with a lovely overhand right to stop proceedings.

Oban Elliot got his first finish in his third UFC fight to put his name on the UFC map. The Welsh gangster stopped the more experienced Bassil Hafez with a lovely right cross to drop his opponent in the third round and finish the fight with some shots on the ground.