Tag: Jon Jones

June 30, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE Night of Champions preview, Jon Jones retires amid controversy

Posted on by F4W Staff

Image: WWE

Dave Meltzer returns with another new Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The lead story is about the retirement of now-former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones — one of the greatest fighters in the Octagon and one of its most controversial figures outside of it.

Dave previews this weekend’s WWE Night of Champions and looks at the wild road to get to Saudi Arabia.

He also recaps last week’s Fantasticamania, NJPW’s new big signing that they hope will lead them into the future, and all the other news of the wrestling week.

Click here to read.

WOR: WWE and Saudi, Smackdown and Collision, Jon Jones

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including WWE and Saudi Arabia, the full Smackdown and Collision reports, Jon Jones retires, Olympic gold medalist signs with New Japan and won’t change name, the Dynamite rating and why it was so huge, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: WWE Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia is still on
3:22: Jon Jones announces retirement, new allegations surface
11:59: Olympic gold medalist Aaron Wolf signs with NJPW
16:42: Dave’s CMLL Fantastica Mania thoughts
34:25: Ratings, Canelo/Crawford fight update
47:27: WWE SmackDown recap
1:03:19: AEW Collision recap, WWE Raw lineup

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WOL: WWE prepares for Saudi Arabia amid Middle East uncertainty

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: WWE

Just when WWE thought everything would be clear sailing for this week’s trip to Saudi Arabia, the United States attacked several Iran-based nuclear facilities, leaving a lot of uncertainty around the world.

Josh Nason covers that topic and more on Sunday’s Wrestling Observer Live, available for free by clicking below or listening on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts, also for free.

Josh covers eleven-ish topics in less than an hour, including:

All that and more awaits. Just click here to listen or stream on Spotify/Apple Podcasts.

Jon Jones announces retirement from UFC, new criminal summons revealed

Posted on by Bryan Rose

This story has been updated.

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is retiring.

During a press conference on Saturday after UFC Baku, Dana White said Jones, 37, contacted UFC on Friday night to say he was retired. Jones later posted on X to confirm the news and give thanks.

“Jon Jones contacted us last night and is retired. Jon Jones is officially retired, Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC,” White said.

“As I close this chapter of my life, I look forward to new opportunities and challenges ahead. MMA will always be a part of who I am, and I’m excited to see how I can continue to contribute to the sport and inspire others in new ways. Thank you all for being part of this incredible journey with me. The best is yet to come,” Jones wrote as part of his goodbye.

Jones had been heavyweight champion since March 4, 2023, defeating Cyril Gane. When Jones was unable to defend the title, Aspinall defeated Curtis Blaydes on July 27, 2024, to win the interim title. Despite there being an interim champion, Jones successfully defended the actual heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 which will serve as his final MMA match unless he returns.

A match between Jones and Aspinall had been in the talking stages following Jones’ last title defense, but the unification bout was never officially announced, leaving the title in a state of flux for months.

Jones began fighting in 2008 and over his career established himself as one of the most dominant fighters in history, amassing a 28-1-1 record, his only loss being a questionable disqualification over Matt Hamill. He won the UFC light heavyweight title twice and the interim title once, losing them each time due to drug and behavior issues.

**********

A few hours after the news broke, a new report from the Albuquerque Journal revealed there is a criminal summons against Jones with a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident stemming from an incident on February 21st. The summons was filed this past Tuesday and he has been called to appear in court on July 24th.

An Albuquerque police officer was investigating a crash when she saw a woman in the car “exhibiting signs of significant intoxication and lacking clothing from the waste down.” The woman said Jones was the driver and when the officer called Jones, he “appeared to be heavily intoxicated and made statements implying his capacity to employ lethal force through third parties.”

The officer requested backup and that person also reported similar threats of violence were made.

Several days later, Jones was interviewed in person and said the woman left his house intoxicated earlier in the day and called him after getting in the accident. He then said the officer he spoke with used “unprofessional language” which made him think it wasn’t legit.

The woman later told the police she drank alcohol and took mushrooms at Jones’ house, and after changing her clothes at her house, the next thing she remembered was being at the scene of an accident. She said Jones was the last person she remembered driving the car.

According to the report, Jones called the woman’s phone 13 times from the time of the crash until 11:34 AM the next morning in addition to text messages.

Stipe Miocic retires following loss to heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 309

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: UFC

In what many expected to be fait accompli win or lose, former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic indeed called it a career following his loss to reigning champion Jon Jones at Saturday’s UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden.

Jones (pictured left) defeated Miocic (pictured right) by third round TKO in the main event after landing a heel kick to Miocic’s left rib cage that dropped him to the mat. He followed that up with ground and pound to get the victory in what was a dominant performance.

It was Jones’ first fight since winning the then-vacant title in March 2023. He was set to face Miocic at last year’s MSG show but had to pull out due to a pectoral injury.

Despite hinting he might retire, Jones told Joe Rogan after the fight that he is going to keep going and is going to talk with Dana White and Hunter Campbell about what could be next. He heavily hinted he may agree to a unification fight with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall that he had shown no interest this week in doing.

It was the 42-year-old Miocic’s first fight since March 2021 when he lost the title to Francis Ngannou. He ends his career with a 20-5 mark and two heavyweight title runs. He won his first title with a victory over Fabricio Werdum in May 2016 and broke the record for most consecutive title defense with three. He lost the title to Daniel Cormier in July 2018 and the two would fight two more times with Miocic regaining the title in the rematch and defending it in the trilogy.

UFC 309 live results: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

The Octagon is back inside the “World’s Most Famous Arena,” marking the return of arguably the greatest fighter in UFC history with UFC 309 from New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones makes his long-awaited return as he defends against former champion Stipe Miocic in a fight that has been years in the making. Originally scheduled for last year’s event at MSG, it was called off after Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle and subsequent surgery that has kept him out of action since then.

Jones won the title with a win over Ciryl Gane in March 2023. Miocic, often regarded as the best heavyweight in UFC history, has not fought since losing the title to Francis Ngannou in March 2021. It is possible this will be the last fight for both men while interim champion Tom Aspinall is waiting in the wings for the winner in the event that isn’t the case.

The co-main event will be a five-round rematch of a May 2021 fight as former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira takes on Michael Chandler in a no. 1 contender’s match. Oliveira scored a second-round TKO over Chandler at UFC 262 to win the vacant title.

Also on the main card is a middleweight bout between undefeated prospect Bo Nickal and Paul Craig; a women’s flyweight fight pitting Viviane Araujo against Karine Silva; and a catchweight fight between highly-touted prospect Mauricio Ruffy and James Llontop.

Among the fighters competing on the preliminary card are former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman as well as Jim Miller who is the all-time leader in UFC wins and fights.

*BREAKING- Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders has been scratched from the card due to an illness for Anders, who wasn’t medically cleared to compete.

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> Women’s Flyweights- Veronica Hardy (9-4-1, 4-4 UFC) vs. Eduarda Moura (10-1, 1-1 UFC)

Moura connects with a solid right hand. Hardy connects to the body. They trade in close range. Hardy with a body kick and Moura counters with a combination. Hardy lands a body kick. There’s not a ton of action going on. Moura lands a big right hand. Hardy lands a left hand. Hardy with a right hand followed by a body kick. Hardy lands a left hand and a high kick but Moura is able to score a takedown. 10-9 Moura.

Hardy lands a left hand and a body kick. Moura scores a takedown and has the back as they stand. Hardy with some back elbows. Moura has Hardy back on the mat and with back control but not doing anything as Hardy lands elbows. Moura gets inside the guard of Hardy and lands some as Hardy still lands some elbows from the bottom. Moura ends the round on top as both land. 10-9 Moura, 20-18 Moura.

Hardy lands a body kick. Both still looking for openings. Moura lands a right hand as Hardy comes in. Moura lands a right hand. Hardy with a left hand. The action is lacking here. Moura lands a leg kick. Hardy with a hard leg kick. Hardy lands a body kick. Hardy with a couple more leg kicks. Hardy lands a left hand and they trade late. 10-9 Hardy, 29-28 Moura.

Official Result- Eduarda Moura def. Veronica Hardy by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

> Welterweights- Bassil Hafez (9-4-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Oban Elliott (11-2, 2-0 UFC)

Elliott with some kicks to Hafez’ lead leg. They clinch as both look for a takedown. Hafez lands an elbow as they break. Elliott with a pair of jabs. Elliott with a body kick. Hafez lands a left hand. Hafez missing when he throws. Elliott with a body kick. Hafez lands a big kick. Hafez with a body kick. Elliott continues to land with more volume. Elliott with a series of leg kicks. 10-9 Elliott.

Hafez works the jab. Hafez lands a left hand and Elliott counters with a calf kick. Elliott lands some more leg kicks. Elliott with a body kick and they both connect with a right hand. They trade in close range. Elliott with a leg kick then he lands a body kick. Elliott with another leg kick. They trade. Hafez lands a straight left hand. Elliott with a high kick then a leg kick. Elliott lands a combination. Hafez with a left hand. Elliott lands a high kick. Elliott with a body kick. 10-9 Elliott, 20-18 Elliott.

Hafez lands a left hand. Hafez pressuring and lands some short leg kicks. Elliott drops Hafez with a right hand and starts landing from the top and it is all over! Big finish from Elliott to pick up the win.

Official Result- Oban Elliott def. Bassil Hafez by knockout (punches) at :40 of Round 3

> Welterweights- Mickey Gall (7-6, 6-6 UFC) vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (10-5, 2-3 UFC)

Brahimaj with a pair of leg kicks as they trade punches. Gall lands a right hand to the body. They trade jabs. They clinch and Brahimaj with some uppercuts before he slips and they separate. Gall lands a right hand. He lands another. Brahimaj with a head kick. Brahimaj starting to land more and he drops Gall with a massive right hand and it is all over! What a finish from Brahimaj!

Official Result- Ramiz Brahimaj def. Mickey Gall by knockout (punch) at 2:55 of Round 1

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> Heavyweights- #9 Marcin Tybura (25-9, 12-8 UFC) vs. Jhonata Diniz (8-0, 2-0 UFC)

Tybura tries a kick but Diniz grabs it and lets go. Diniz with a high kick and then stuns Tybura with a left hand as they go to the mat. Diniz with some elbows from the top. Tybura rolls for a leg as Diniz lands some hammerfists. Tybura ends up on top. Tybura lands and is looking to set up a choke. Tybura with some short elbows and punches as he moves to the mount. Tybura landing from the top. Tybura with an elbow. 10-9 Tybura.

Tybura with a body kick. Diniz lands a right hand. Tybura lands a left hand. He lands another. Tybura lands a jab as Diniz barely lands a right hand. Tybura scores a takedown. Tybura controlling from the top. Tybura gets the mount and is landing punches. Tybura with short right hands and lands a big elbow. Tybura lands some big elbows and Diniz has a big cut opened up. Tybura reigning down with elbows and Diniz is bleeding everywhere. It is close to being stopped as Tybura continues to land but time runs out. 10-8 Tybura, 20-17 Tybura.

The fight is stopped by the doctor after he checked on Diniz. Diniz was stumbling after the round and he was protesting, but this feels like a good stoppage.

Official Result- Marcin Tybura def. Jhonata Diniz by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 2

> Lightweights- David Onama (12-2, 4-2 UFC) vs. Roberto Romero (8-3-1, 0-0 UFC)

Romero lands a right hand and a leg kick. He lands another. Romero with some more leg kicks. Onama lands a pair of leg kicks. They continue to trade and Romero drops Onama with a right hand. Romero jumps on the back and looks for a choke. Onama gets out and they clinch against the fence. They trade knees to the body. Onama grabs the neck and looks for a choke. Romero looking for a takedown but Onama defends and they separate. Romero with a leg kick and lands a right hand. Onama rocks Romero with a left hand. Onama with a big flurry and Romero goes to the mat and Onama lands to end the round. 10-9 Romero.

They’re trading big shots to start the second. Onama landing the jab. They trade leg kicks and both land a jab. Onama lands a heavy jab. Onama with a big combination. Onama with a jab. Onama lands a right hand. Romero is gassing out. Onama lands and Romero goes to the mat and Onama gets into the guard and starts landing from the top. Onama with some big shots from the top. 10-9 Onama, 19-19.

Onama lands a left hand. Onama working the jab. Romero with a pair of body kicks. Onama lands a left hand. Romero with an overhand right. Onama lands a series of jabs followed by a knee. Onama with some left hands and jabs but Romero trips him up with a leg kick. Romero with a high kick and Onama catches it and dumps Romero to the mat. Onama gets into the mount. Onama controlling and landing a lot from the top. Onama stands and lands to the body then gets back on top and lands a flurry as the fight ends. 10-9 Onama, 29-28 Onama.

Official Result- David Onama def. Roberto Romero by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Lightweights- Jim Miller (37-18 1 NC, 26-17 1 NC UFC) vs. Damon Jackson (23-7-1 1 NC, 6-5-1 1 NC UFC)

They come out trading as Jackson lands a body kick and a combination. Miller lands a left hand. Jackson with a body kick. They briefly clinch then break apart. Jackson lands a right hand. Miller lands an elbow. Jackson with a right hand and a front kick. Miller lands a left hand. Jackson looks for a takedown but Miller locks in a guillotine choke. It is in tight and Jackson taps! Miller gets the submission win and adds to his all-time UFC wins record.

Official Result- Jim Miller def. Damon Jackson by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:44 of Round 1

> Bantamweights- #13 Jonathan Martinez (19-5, 10-4 UFC) vs. Marcus McGhee (9-1, 3-0 UFC)

They trade kicks as both land hard leg kicks. McGhee lands a combination. McGhee lands a leg kick. He lands another. McGhee with a right hand and a high kick. McGhee with another leg kick and a left hand. McGhee with a body kick and a combination. Martinez getting nothing going as McGhee is constantly pressing forward and landing. Martinez with a leg kick. He lands another. McGhee lands a combo. Martinez with a leg kick. McGhee lands a leg kick followed by a combo then a stiff jab. 10-9 McGhee.

McGhee lands a combination with a high kick. Martinez lands a leg kick. Martinez lands a right hand as McGhee came in and landed. McGhee with a leg kick. McGhee with a series of jabs. Martinez lands a right hand. McGhee with a stiff jab. He lands two more. McGhee with a quick combo ending with a knee then back to the jab. Martinez with a heavy leg kick. McGhee lands a combination. McGhee landing with more volume. Martinez lands a left hand. Martinez with a jab. Martinez with a step-in elbow. McGhee lands a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. They trade at the end. 10-9 McGhee, 20-18 McGhee.

McGhee lands a few right hands. They trade leg kicks. Martinez lands as McGhee comes in. They trade leg kicks. McGhee with some uppercuts to the body. They trade jabs. Martinez hurts McGhee with a leg kick and lands two more. McGhee with a right hand. They tie up against the fence. They separate and McGhee is having trouble on his feet. Martinez with a leg kick. McGhee lands a right hand and then another. McGhee lands and Martinez with a leg kick and then lands a right hand. Martinez with another leg kick. 10-9 Martinez, 29-28 McGhee.

Official Result- Marcus McGhee def. Jonathan Martinez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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> 165-pound Catchweights*- Mauricio Ruffy (10-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. James Llontop (14-4, 0-2 UFC)

*Llontop missed weight by 1.2 pounds

Ruffy lands a right hand. Ruffy with a leg kick. Ruffy with a jab. Llontop lands a leg kick. Ruffy lands a leg kick. Llontop lands a leg kick. Llontop connects with a right hand. Ruffy lands a jab. Ruffy with a hard leg kick. Ruffy with a counter left hand. Ruffy rocks Llontop with a hard right hand but then tried a crazy kick that missed and allowed Llontop to recover. Ruffy with a spin kick to the body. 10-9 Ruffy.

Ruffy lands a leg kick. Llontop lands a body kick then a leg kick. Ruffy with a jab. Ruffy drops Llontop with a left hand and starts landing from the top. Llontop is able to survive and gets back to his feet as they clinch against the fence. They separate. Ruffy with a wheel kick and follows with a right hand. Llontop lands a body kick then a leg kick. Ruffy with a pair of jabs. He rocks Llontop with a big right hand. Llontop lands a left hand. Ruffy with some right hands. 10-9 Ruffy, 20-18 Ruffy.

Llontop with a leg kick then a body kick. Llontop pushes it against the fence but they separate. Ruffy lands a right hand. Ruffy is slowing down and Llontop pushes it against the fence. Ruffy lands a right hand as they separate. Ruffy lands a left hook. Llontop lands to the body. Llontop with a pair of leg kicks. Llontop lands a right hand. Llontop with a body kick. They clinch against the fence. Llontop lands a combination as they separate. Llontop with a body kick and a combo. Ruffy lands a big left hand. 10-9 Llontop, 29-28 Ruffy.

Official Result- Mauricio Ruffy def. James Llontop by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Women’s Flyweights- #9 Viviane Araujo (12-6, 6-5 UFC) vs. #11 Karine Silva (18-4, 4-0 UFC)

Silva lands a leg kick. Silva with a body kick. Araujo lands a right hand. Araujo lands a right hand. Araujo lands an uppercut. They trade kicks. Silva lands a high kick and Araujo counters with a right hand. Araujo lands a left hand then a leg kick. Silva lands a leg kick. Silva clips Araujo with a left hand then a right hand. Silva lands a left hand as Araujo was retreating. Araujo lands a right hand. 10-9 Silva.

Araujo lands a combination then lands to the body. Araujo with a leg kick. Silva shoots for a takedown and pushes it against the fence. They separate. Araujo with a right hand. Silva lands a kick up the middle and then two big right hands. Silva kind of scores a takedown as they quickly get up. Araujo grabbed the fence multiple times. Silva gets the takedown. Araujo looks for an armbar. She almost had it but Silva was able to transition to side control. Both women are bleeding. Silva looks for a D’Arce choke. Araujo is able to escape. Araujo with some punches from the top. 10-9 Silva, 20-18 Silva.

Silva lands a body kick. Silva grabs the body lock and gets it down but Araujo ends up on top. They get to their feet. Silva with a body kick. Araujo lands a leg kick. Silva tries a body kick and Araujo grabs the leg and Silva falls right to the mat. Araujo lands leg kicks standing before Silva is ordered up. Both women are tired. Araujo with a body kick and lands an uppercut. Araujo lands a stiff right hand. Silva falls to the mat and Araujo with some standing leg kicks before Silva is ordered up. Araujo with a body kick and a right hand. Silva lands a right hand. She falls to the mat after missing a punch but is ordered up. They clinch and Silva lands a knee. Araujo gets a takedown. 10-9 Araujo, 29-28 Silva.

Official Result- Viviane Araujo def. Karine Silva by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Middleweights- Bo Nickal (6-0, 3-0 UFC) vs. Paul Craig (17-7-1, 9-7-1 UFC)

Nickal with a leg kick. Nickal with a pair of leg kicks. Craig lands a leg kick. Craig lands another leg kick. Nickal with an inside leg kick. Nickal lands a left hand. Craig lands a leg kick. Craig works the jab. Nickal with a leg kick. Craig lands a right hand. Craig with a high kick. Nickal lands a left hand. Craig lands a body kick. 10-9 Craig.

Craig lands a body kick. Craig with a high kick. Nickal lands a left hand. Craig with a short leg kick. Nickal connects with a left hand. Craig with a high kick. Nickal lands a left hand. Nickal lands a solid right hand then a leg kick. Nickal with a left hand to the body. Nickal lands a left hand. Craig with two body kicks. Craig lands a left hand. Craig with another kick to the arms of Nickal. Nickal lands a left hand. Nickal lands a left hand. 10-9 Nickal, 19-19.

Nickal lands a right hand. Craig lands a body kick. Craig with a body kick. They aren’t doing much. Nickal with a leg kick. Craig lands a body kick. Nickal connects with a left hand. Nickal with a leg kick. Nickal lands to the body. Nickal with a leg kick. Nickal lands a left hand. 10-9 Nickal, 29-28 Nickal.

Official Result- Bo Nickal def. Paul Craig by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Lightweights- #2 Charles Oliveira (34-10 1 NC, 22-10 1 NC UFC) vs. #7 Michael Chandler (23-8, 2-3 UFC)

Oliveira with a front kick. Oliveira with a right hand. Chandler lands a jab. Oliveira lands a body kick. Chandler with a right hand to the body. Oliveira looks for a takedown and is able to get Chandler to the mat. Oliveira has control of a leg as he is on top. Oliveira trying to clear his leg. Chandler with some punches from the bottom. Oliveira ends the round on top. 10-9 Oliveira.

Oliveira lands a leg kick. Chandler lands to the body. Oliveira with a combo and Chandler slips to the mat. Oliveira lands a big right hand and Chandler runs away. Oliveira lands another right hand. Chandler lands a leg kick. Oliveira with a high kick. Oliveira lands a big knee. Chandler loading up and landed a left hand. Oliveira gets a takedown right into full mount. Oliveira with an elbow from the top. Oliveira with more elbows. Oliveira lands some more big elbows. Oliveira with some 12-6 elbows. 10-9 Oliveira, 20-18 Oliveira.

Chandler lands a jab. Oliveira lands a left hand. Chandler with a leg kick. Oliveira lands an uppercut then a right hand. Chandler lands a jab. Oliveira lands an uppercut. Oliveira with a knee. They trade right hands. Oliveira mixes everything against the fence. Oliveira gets the back and scores a takedown. Oliveira working for a choke and lands some elbows. Oliveira lands to the body. Oliveira almost gets the choke but Chandler slips out. 10-9 Oliveira, 30-27 Oliveira.

Oliveira with a pair of body kicks. Chandler with a left hand and a leg kick. Chandler lands a left hand. Oliveira lands and lands a flying knee. Oliveira gets it down and is on Chandler’s back. Oliveira looking for a choke. Chandler tries to escape. Oliveira gets the choke under the chin but Chandler fights it off. Oliveira holds on. 10-9 Oliveira, 40-36 Oliveira.

Chandler lands a left to the body. Oliveira with a body kick. Oliveira shoots for a takedown but Chandler defends. Oliveira lands a right hand. Chandler lands a right hand and hurts Oliveira with some punches. Oliveira looks for a takedown and Chandler starts landing punches, most to the back of the head. Chandler with some elbows. Oliveira is able to get to his feet. Chandler lands a left hand. Oliveira gets the back and drags it down. Chandler gets to his feet with Oliveira on his back and slams backwards. He does it again. 10-9 Chandler, 49-46 Oliveira.

Official Result- Charles Oliveira def. Michael Chandler by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)

> UFC Heavyweight Championship- C Jon Jones (27-1 1 NC, 21-1 1 NC UFC) vs. #8 Stipe Miocic (20-4, 14-4 UFC)

Jones lands a left hand and Miocic counters with a right hand. Jones with a body kick. Jones with an inside leg kick. Jones gets a big trip takedown and lands a big elbow. Jones with an elbow from the top. Jones with more big elbows. Jones landing tons of elbows and has Miocic in trouble. Miocic gets Jones into his guard. Jones gets to side control. Jones with more big elbows. 10-8 Jones.

Miocic lands a jab. He lands a left hand. Jones with a jab and Miocic lands an uppercut. Jones lands a body kick. Jones with an elbow and lands a body kick. Jones with an inside leg kick and lands a knee to the body. Jones lands a jab. Miocic lands a right hand. Jones with a high body kick. Jones with a series of kicks. Miocic barely lands and Jones circles away. Jones with a spin kick to the body. 10-9 Jones, 20-17 Jones.

Miocic lands a right hand. Jones with a series of jabs. Miocic with an uppercut and a right hand. Jones with a body kick then a leg kick. Jones lands an elbow then a right hand. Jones rocks Miocic with a right hand. Jones with a head kick. Jones with more kicks. Jones lands a jab. Miocic lands a right hand. Jones with a side kick to the body. Jones lands a left hand. Jones drops Miocic with a spin kick to the body and finishes it off with punches from the top. A completely dominant showing from Jones as he retains the championship and adds to his legacy.

Official Result- Jon Jones def. Stipe Miocic by TKO (strikes) at 4:29 of Round 3 to retain the UFC Heavyweight Championship

UFC’s Jon Jones reaches agreement to have two March misdemeanor charges dismissed

Posted on by Josh Nason

Charges connected with an alleged assault and threatening of a Drug Free Sport agent this past March against UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones will be dropped after two stipulations are met.

Jones reached a pre-adjudication agreement with the arresting officer to dismiss the charges, announced on Tuesday. Jones must both avoid any incidents for the next 90 days and undergo four hours of anger management sessions in order for the charges to be dropped.

Jones was alleged to both have assaulted and threatened to kill a Drug Free Sport tester when she attempted to get Jones to provide a sample at his home at 4 PM local time in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 30th. Crystal Martinez alleged that Jones became agitated when she and another agent attempted to get the sample, taking her phone at one point and insinuating that people who show up to his home unwelcome “end up dead.”

She filed an internal report, but accused her boss of telling her to hold off on reporting it to the police until she spoke with the UFC first. Jones, who denied the allegations from the start, shared a video showing him high-fiving the two employees and acting jovial as they were leaving his home.

Jones is preparing for his first title defense against former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, November 16th.

Jones released a statement on X after the deal was announced:

Former WWE wrestler Gable Steveson seen training with UFC Champion Jon Jones

Posted on by Ian Carey

UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has brought in former WWE talent and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson to help him prepare for his next fight.

On Tuesday, Jones posted footage of him and Steveson training ahead of Jones’ clash with former two-time champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 next month. Jones would later caption a photo of him and Steveson with, “It’s humbling having some of the world’s best athletes supporting me throughout this camp.”

Steveson is coming off an unsuccessful attempt at trying out for the Buffalo Bills for this off-season. He was not signed to the team’s practice squad either.

Steveson officially signed with WWE in 2021 and was released by the company this May. Following his departure, his manager issued a statement to the MMA Hour:

Gable Steveson is very grateful for the opportunities he had with WWE and would like to thank everybody in the organization who helped him get there. He would also like to thank all the fans who have supported him on his professional wrestling journey. Now, Gable is ready to resume competing against elite-level competition and looks forward to sharing big news with you all very soon. 

Daily Update: Ivar, Jon Jones, UFC weigh-ins

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

F4W/WON Convention

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

This week’s back issue:

Friday Update

– Our weekend schedule is that we will be doing a show today with Garrett Gonzales talking about the news of the week and Bryan and I will return Sunday night covering the weekend news.

– The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site today. It’s a gigantic issue:

  • The legal games involving the Janel Grant lawsuit against Vince McMahon. The arguments for  arbitration, McMahon’s side goes after Janel Grant’s character, why Vince can’t produce the text messages, and WWE and McMahon file new arguments.
  • AEW going to tape Collisions & ROH leading up to All In, all in Arlington, TX.  We look at the good and the bad as well as the significance to this move
  • The crazy competition the first AEW show in the building wll face
  • Update on King and Queen of the Ring as well as AEW Double or Nothing. What to look for on both shows.
  • Full detailed rundown of New Japan Resurgence
  • The death of inDemand, a company that was a huge part of the wrestling and boxing business for decades
  • Huge historical feature on the life of Bob Bruggers, as well as the 1972 Verne Gagne training camp that produced five Hall of Fame candidates of its six trainees and background of Ken Patera, Ric Flair, Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell and Iron Sheik
  • The most detailed look at the ratings of all the pro wrestling and MMA TV shows this past week
  • The biggest trouble spot AEW faces
  • The weekly rankings for wrestling, quarter hours, competition for the shows and more
  • Arena Mexico big show update
  • AAA doing a feuding authority figure angle
  • NWA deal with All Japan
  • Behind the new executive who will be in charge of three different pro wrestling companies at the same time
  • New Japan Super Juniors coverage
  • One of the biggest drawing cards of the last 40 years to announce his retirement details this week
  • Another of the biggest stars of the last 40 years enters sports Hall of Fame
  • Billy Corgan talks TV deal for NWA
  • Homicide talks injuries
  • Death of wrestler and horror stories about warring with Eddie Graham
  • MLW breaks records and gets its most mainstream media ever
  • New AEW licensing deals
  • Konosuke Takeshita talks frustrations in AEW
  • Advance ticket sales for AEW & WWE shows
  • More on Dwayne Johnson’s next movie
  • Details of the most expensive sports ticket I’ve ever heard of
  • Dana White talks WWE PPVs on Sundays and update
  • What Las Vegas is expecting as far as tourism for WrestleMania
  • More behind the departures of two more WWE executives
  • Lots of injury updates
  • Streaming numbers and international TV numbers
  • Sami Zayn’s first comedy show looked at
  • *WWE arena notes and weekend business

– Ivar’s injury is more serious than we were first led to believe. They did an NXT angle where Gallus took him out as a storyline reason as he was not going to be around for a while. Ivar posted that he’s trying to figure out all of his options and what it means for his future.

– A correction from what was earlier reported in the Observer today. WWE isn’t taping two episodes of SmackDown in Jacksonville tonight. Next week’s show will be taped for the first time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

– Yesterday was the 61st anniversary of Bruno Sammartino’s original WWWF title win over Buddy Rogers.

– Today is the fourth anniversary of the death of Shad Gaspard, the first winner and namesake for our Shad Gaspard/Jon Huber annual award. Last year on this day was the death of Superstar Billy Graham, a performer whose influence on the industry can’t be overstated and whose Madison Square Garden drawing power sellout percentage (as noted in our bio in the May 22, 2023 issue) will likely never be topped.

– Also want to make a  note of the story in the current Observer on Bob Bruggers, the 1975 plane crash  and the Verne Gagne 1972 training camp.  For those into pro wrestling history, and just really a look at a unique life, you’ll probably really like this one. There are so many twist and turns in it from different territories, stars like Ric Flair and Ken Patera breaking in, and the 1975 plane crash and all the different what-ifs that could have happened, from the potential end of Flair’s career to what if Wahoo McDaniel was on the flight.

– The New Japan Best of the Super Juniors continues at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning from Hachioji:

  • Kosei Fujita vs Clark Connors
  • Dragon Dia vs. Drilla Moloney
  • Hayata vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Ninja Mack vs. Douki
  • TJP vs. Bushi
  • Kushida vs. Robbie Eagles
  • Titan vs. Blake Christian
  • Taiji Ishimori vs. Francesco Akira
  • El Desperado vs. Kevin Knight
  • Sho vs. Hiromu Takahashi

– The U.K FantasticaMania shows are tomorrow at York Hall in London.

Afternoon show:

  • Zozaya & Michael Oku vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Angel de Oro
  • Mistico & Ricky Knight Jr. & JJ Gale vs. Templario & Gabe Kidd & Magnus
  • Hechicero vs. Connor Mills
  • Barbaro Cavernario vs. Robbie X
  • Stephanie Vaquer v. Kanji
  • Luke Jacobs & Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Mascara Dorada & Neon & Futuro
  • Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. & Dulce Gardenia vs. Okumura & Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II

Evening show:

  • Oku vs. Ultimo Guerrero
  • Mistico vs. Templario
  • Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Atlantis & Atlantis Jr for British tag titles
  • Jordon Breaks vs. Neon for British cruiserweight title
  • Stephanie Vaquer vs. Rhio
  • Mascara Dorada vs. Gabe Kidd vs. Magnus
  • Zozaya vs. Angel de Oro
  • Robbie X & Dulce Gardena & Futuro vs. Hechicero & Barbaro Cavernario & Okumura

– Funeral services for longtime Bay Area wrestling star Tony Jones will be tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Duggans  Funeral Home in Daly City, CA. Jones was featured in Beyond the Mat and was a standout college wrestler. He was a super nice guy who I talked with at almost every major wrestling show I attended in the last 20 or so years, was a regular listener to our shows and had tryouts with WWF & WCW.  

– We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows:

  • Smackdown tonight in Jacksonville (dark matches only)
  • TNA TV tapings Saturday in Newport, KY
  • NXT Saturday in Fort Pierce, FL
  • TNA TV tapings Sunday in Newport, KY

– The Apple TV documentary “Monster Factory,” about Danny Cage’s wrestling school in Paulsboro, NJ, was nominated for a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Documentary series. The ceremony will be on Tuesday.

– UFC is at the Apex tomorrow with a show purely on ESPN+ from the Apex Arena in Las Vegas:

  • Vanessa Dempoulo (116) vs. Emily Ducote (115.5)
  • Alatengheil (136) vs. Kleydson Rodrigues (135.5)
  • Piera Rodriguez (116) vs. Ariane Carnelossi (115.5)
  • Abus Magomedov (185.5) vs. Warlley Alves (186)
  • Tamires Vidal (134.5) vs. Melissa Gatto (134.5)
  • Oumar Sy (206) vs. Tuco Tokko (205.5)
  • Victor Martinez (156) vs. Tom Nolan (155.5)
  • Luana Pinheiro (116) vs. Angela Hill (115.5)
  • Adrian Yanez (136) vs. Vinicius Salvador (136)
  • Themba Gorimbo (170.5) vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (170.5)
  • Khaos Williams (170) vs. Carlston Harris (169.5)
  • Edson Barboza (145.5) vs. Lerone Murphy (146)

– Jon Jones in a tweet teased that he would return to fighting in November. Jones is expected to defend the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic next. November would be UFC’s annual show in Madison Square Garden. That would make sense. Jones previously said he had agreed to a return date but would wait for UFC to announce it.

– The Bellator show from Paris, France, is currently airing Friday afternoon on MAX.

– MLW Battle Riot on 6/1 at Center Stage in Atlanta is almost sold out.  That’s  a 700 seat venue.

– MLW Fury Road airs at 10 p.m. tomorrow night on Bein Sports and the MLW YouTube channel as a two-hour special. Satoshi Kojima vs. 1 Called Manders for the MLW title and Matt Riddle vs. Sami Callihan headline. Details on the show that was taped this past weekend are in the current Observer.

– Former UFC fighter Jack Marshman has signed a multi-fight deal with the BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle promotion.

– Combate Global airs on Univision Saturday night from Miami on Univision and FUSE with Patrick Lahane (7-2) vs. James Gonzalez (10-7) in the main event.  It airs at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.  Gonzalez is a late replacement for Ivan Castllo of Mexico who pulled out earlier in the week due to a bad eye poke in training

– Buff Bagwell returns to wrestling this weekend on the Memphis Wrestling YouTube show that airs on Saturdays at Noon. Bagwell & John Dalton in the main event face Lord Gaston & Sir Matthew.

– Eve on 6/7 at the Big Penny Social Club in Walthamstow, London. Miyuki Takase and Haruka Umesaki will debut with Eve on that show. They face Safire Reed and Chantal Jordan.

Daily Update: Drew Gulak, UFC 301 fallout, Jon Jones

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

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F4W/WON Convention

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Some of the highlights in this issue:

  • John Laurinaitis’ lawyer appears to switch his story, why, case updates, lawyers talk and more case thoughts
  • A detailed look at the WWE Draft including updated Raw & Smackdown depth charts
  • WWE Backlash and what to look for
  • A look at AAA’s first TripleMania show
  • A look at Stardom’s All Star Grand Queendom and maybe the best women’s match this year
  • A look at the U.S. Olympic wrestling trials
  • The most detailed look at the ratings of all the wrestling shows
  • Lots of major ratings takeaways from AEW, including the key to the audience decline
  • How the shows are doing as compared to cable as a whole
  • Notes on our latest book release
  • Finals of CMLL’s Universal tournament of champions and who ended up getting the super push
  • Who is coming to CMLL FantasticaMania
  • Champion Carnival tournament update
  • A look at the New Japan Best of the Super Junior tournament
  • Rundown on New Japan big shows
  • “Who Killed WCW?” TV series coming and thoughts
  • Former WWE developmental wrestler indicted on murder charges and details
  • One of the modern era’s biggest legends robbed at the airport
  • Sting being honored
  • Famous wrestling TV location getting a special show filled with big names
  • MLW sets attendance record
  • Update on WWE, AEW and TNA PPV numbers
  • NBA negotiations and how this could affect AEW deal
  • Early thoughts on AEW Double or Nothing
  • AEW losing international dels
  • Tony Khan publicity stunts
  • Visa issues on foreign stars
  • One of the three biggest executives in WWE resigns
  • Lots on Dwayne Johnson from The Wrap story
  • Lots of Dwayne Johnon in WWE notes
  • More on a movie on the life of Ronda Rousey
  • Cody Rhodes talks AEW

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Sunday Update

– Bryan and I did our weekend show last night covering WWE Backlash, UFC 301, WWE cuts, John Laurinaitis, and New Japan Dontaku. We’ll be back again Monday night after Raw.

– Regarding the Drew Gulak situation after yesterday’s press conference with Paul Levesque, technically his contract is expiring and not being renewed as opposed to firing but that’s largely word semantics. The Ronda Rousey story is the reason he stopped being used and wasn’t going to be brought back, but with him gone, we’re told the stories surfacing are accurate as less experienced talent had not been comfortable talking about a veteran on the roster.

– WWE starts the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments on Raw tomorrow in Hartford, CT. They announced men’s bouts with Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor, Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio, Ricochet vs. Ilja Draunov, and Sheamus vs. Gunther. They also announced women’s bouts with Ivy Nile vs. Zoey Stark, Shayna Baszler vs. Zelina Vega, Lyra Valkyria vs. Asuka, and Iyo Sky vs. Natalya. Some of these bouts sound great but with eight bouts on a show, they may not get time. Based on what was announced, it appears this will be Raw and SmackDown each having an eight-man men’s and women’s tournament over the next few weeks and the winners meeting in the finals at the King & Queen of the Ring PPV on 5/25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I don’t know that factually. I brought this up to a few in WWE, and the official word was that this will all likely be explained tomorrow night. One other person said that they believed this to be the plan. If they are doing eight bouts on Smackdown in two hours on Friday, that would be rushed. But that will be the focus of TV in the next few weeks.

– We’re looking for your thoughts on WWE Backlash as well as the second night of NXT Dontaku, so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]

– Lots of interesting Google search notes for the weekend. UFC 301 last night did 420,000 searches. I felt less interest in this than any UFC PPV ever. WWE Backlash did 100,000, which is the lowest I can ever recall a WWE PPV doing. The Canelo Alvarez fight with Jaime Munguia did 1.5 million, so to the public, it was the one with the most interest of the shows yesterday. For comparison, the Kentucky Derby did 5.5 million. The only other boxing or MMA or wrestling stuff that trended was Ryan Garcia’s positive drug test did 200,000 on Wednesday and the death of Francis Ngannou’s young child did 100,000 on Monday.

– Jon Jones claimed that he’s got a date for his return and upcoming UFC heavyweight title fight with Stipe Miocic, but he’ll let Dana White make the official announcement. He said it’s nearly a done deal but the contracts have not been issued but said there is a verbal agreement.

– In the flyweight title main event at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Alexandre Pantoja won a 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 win over Stev Erceg. Judge Favio Alves gave Pantoja rounds one, three, and five. Sal D’Amato had the same score. Dave Tirelli had Pantoja winning 1, 2, 3 and 5. Media scores were 88 percent for Pantoja.

– In Canada this coming weekend the three-hour Collision & Rampage block from Vancouver will air from midnight to 3 a.m. Eastern, or on a four-hour tape delay on TSN in Canada. Usually, those shows don’t even air in Canada except for streaming, but TSN airs shows that are taped in Canada. But it’s hardly at a time it’ll get much viewership.

– In the U.K., while Joe Hendry’s song “I Believe in Joe Hendry” got a lot of viral notice, it did not land in the official charts for the week which takes in data from airplay, YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, and others. Tom Campbell reported that for just sales this past week, it was the No. 6 single, and for downloads, it was No. 4. It was also No. 4 in the Official Big Top 40 based on streams, downloads, and Radio play.

– Jose Aldo, whose fight with Jonathan Martinez probably had the most interest of any bout on the UFC show, said he believes his contract is up but UFC has the right to match any outside offer. Many expected this would be his last fight but he indicated he’s not retiring and is hopeful of getting a title shot at bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. He also said he had an offer to box on the 7/20 Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul show at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. He also talked about perhaps fighting Henry Cejudo, Dominick Cruz, or Cory Sandhagen and said he brought all those names up for last night’s show but none were available.

– All Together Now at Budokan Hall on ABEMA Live PPV at 3:30 a.m. Eastern very late tonight:

  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Naomichi Marufuji & Sanshiro Takagi vs. Evil & Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Shota Umino & Kaito Kiyomiya & Yuki Ueno vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Shun Skywalker & Yuya Uemura
  • Daisuke Sekimoto & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jeff Cobb & Masa Kitamiya
  • Sanada & Kai vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes
  • Kenoh vs. Kosei Fujita
  • AZM & Miyu Amasaki vs. Starlight Kid & Natsupoi
  • Kota Minoura & Mao & Ninja Mack & Hayata & Desperado vs. Yamato & Tetsuya Endo & Alpha Wolf & Dragon Bane & Hiromu Takahashi
  • Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi vs. Jake Lee & David Finlay & Gabe Kidd

The show is a joint effort of New Japan, NOAH, DDT, Dragon Gate, Big Japan, and Stardom.

– In non-WWE matches that have been recommended highly for the weekend, they were Shingo Takagi vs. Gabe Kidd’s Never title match yesterday and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jeff Cobb for the TV title on Friday’s New Japan show, as well as the Arena Mexico main event was the usual excellent, superheated, great creative moves with Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Templario vs. Flip Gordon & Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja. Kaito Kiyomiya’s GHC title win yesterday over El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. was recommended to me as was the Hazuki & Koguma tag title win over Suzu Suzuki & Mei Seira on yesterday’s Stardom PPV show.

– A&E tonight has WWE Rivals on John Cena vs. Batista at 8 p.m. and Most Wanted Treasures on HHH at 9 p.m.

– Penta vs. Rey Fenix takes place on tonight’s House of Glory show at the NYC Arena in New York for Cinco de Mayo.

– Alex Pereira issued a challenge to Anthony Smith saying he would let Smith get his back and put the books in and that if Smith with that dominant position could choke him out, he’d give him $50,000. It was brought up to Smith last night after his win over Vitor Petrino. Smith said, “If I start on his back, I’ll choke the shit out of him, 100 percent.”

– Eve results from Friday night in London: Safire Reed & Zizi & Maya Matthews & Chantal Jordan & Millie McKenzie b Sky Smitson & Nightshade & LA Taylor & Session Moth Martina in a War Games cage match, Lana Austin & Ivy b Alexxis Falcon & Lizzy Evo in an I Quit match, Emersyn Jayne & Kanji b Alex Windsor & Rhio, Nina Samuels b Su Yung in the Eve title match. The show drew 400. Will Ospreay was at the show. The next show is 6/7 in Walthamstow with both Charlie Morgan & Jetta retiring in a trios match teaming with Erin Angel vs. Charli Evans & Millie McKnzie & Nina Samuels, plus Miyuki Takase & Haruka Uemuaki

UFC’s Jon Jones accused of assaulting & threatening to kill drug testing agent

Posted on by Josh Nason

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ inability to stay out of the headlines for the wrong reasons continues.

A report that first came from an Albuquerque, New Mexico, news outlet and then was corroborated by the release of the official local police report stated that on March 30th, Jones allegedly assaulted and threatened to kill a Drug Free Sport tester when they attempted to get Jones to provide a sample at his home at 4 PM local time. 

Drug Free Sport took over as the UFC’s anti-doping partner of choice following last year’s messy divorce from USADA.

The tester, identified as Crystal Martinez, reported Jones was cooperative at first, but her co-worker appeared nervous after returning from following Jones to the bathroom where he was unable to provide a urine sample.

They offered to take a blood sample instead and that is when Jones “appeared agitated” according to the report and then said he was going to sue them. He then allegedly took Martinez’s phone and started recording part of the conversation, some of which the police have seen the footage of.

After allegedly using some threatening language, Martinez said Jones got in her face to question why they came to the house so early, adding “do you know what happens to people who come to my house … they end up dead.”

Martinez wanted to end the test but was fearful Jones might assault her as fighters can be penalized for refusing to take a test. She was unable to use her phone as Jones still allegedly had it at that point.

He eventually agreed to try the urine test again on his patio at which point Martinez took her phone back so she could alert her boss as to the situation. She also stated she thought Jones was intoxicated as she smelled alcohol. She noted her co-worker had issues sealing the sample properly as he was very nervous from the alleged incident.

Martinez later filed an internal report and intended to file a police report, but the aforementioned boss allegedly told her to “hold off until UFC representatives spoke with her.” Her unnamed co-worker was “afraid of the repercussions” of filing a police report as well.

Martinez stated her boss (Pierson Laughlin) then contacted her on Thursday, April 4th asking why she wanted to file a police report and that she felt he was trying to talk her out of it.

A summons was issued on Friday, April 5th for Jones on accusations of assault and interference with communications for allegedly taking the drug tester’s phone. No charges are currently showing for the fighter, however.

On Saturday, Jones posted the following statement and video to his Instagram account where he says the testers hugged and high-fived after the session while admitting he was frustrated with the “unprofessionalism” of the testers:

To this point, the UFC has not commented on the matter. He is currently recovering from a torn pectoral muscle that resulted in him being pulled from last November’s title defense against former champion Stipe Miocic.

The list of Jones’ offenses and run-ins with the law is extensive. The last saw him coming to a plea deal in December 2021 following domestic violence charges stemming from a Las Vegas hotel incident in September 2021. Part of that deal was to “stay out of trouble.”

JNPO: The MMA year in review show, pt. 1

Posted on by Josh Nason

It’s time to kick off my four-part MMA year in review series on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out: a tradition dating back to 2015.

Eight years later, a lot remains the same including that the UFC is still the dominant leader in MMA and even more so than ever before.

Joining me once again is my trusty co-pilot Paul Fontaine of F4W Online and co-host of both the In The Clinch podcast and The Dynamite Show.

To kick things off, we tackle the first three months of the year (January, February & March if you’re keeping track) which saw a changing of the guard at heavyweight in the UFC.

After the UFC and heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou came to an impasse on a new contract, Dana White & Co. simply changed course and decided to move on, vacating the title and putting together Jon Jones vs. Cyril Gane instead…but not without some shade thrown Ngannou’s way first.

We talk about March’s UFC 285 where Jones quickly won the title, preceded by a massive upset that saw Alexa Grasso win the women’s flyweight title.

We saw several other new champions made including Jamahal Hill, Brandon Moreno and Yair Rodriguez and a notable retirement in Benson Henderson.

Hear about all the big fights that happened, the new ones that got made, and all of the other news from the first three months of the year.

Click Here to Listen

October 30, 2023 Observer Newsletter: Dana White’s comments on Vince McMahon, Jon Jones off UFC 295

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Dana White talked about his relationship with Vince McMahon in a Sports Illustrated article, saying that things were never good between them but now they are great.

“My history with Vince isn’t a good one. He tried to f*** me so many times for no reason whatsoever except just to f*** me. But that’s in the past. Now that Vince and I are allies, no one’s been a better partner than Vince.”

White’s quotes indicated that McMahon is now involved with helping the UFC business and is not strictly working on WWE business in his Chairman of the Board of Directors position with TKO, where he’s actually above White on the corporate depth chart. UFC has been left to run itself from the sports standpoint since the Endeavor purchase but McMahon, like Ari Emanuel, who heads the big company, is involved in big-picture deal-making.

Subscribers can click here to read this week’s newsletter.

Jon Jones out of UFC 295 after suffering pectoral injury

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Jon Jones is out of his UFC 295 fight.

Dana White announced on Wednesday morning that Jones would miss his fight against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 due to a pectoral injury suffered on Monday during training. White said he would need surgery and be out of action for 8 months.

“Jon Jones was training last night, got injured,” White explained. “He was wrestling and tore the tendon that connects your pec to the bone off the bone. Eight months, gonna need surgery, he’s out.”

As a result, the new main event for UFC’s November 11 show at Madison Square Garden will be Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira for the UFC light heavyweight title. A fight between Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall for the interim UFC heavyweight title will co-main event.

Jones has only fought sparingly in recent years. In his first fight since 2020, Jones returned to action in March and defeated Cyril Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight title in his division debut in two minutes and four seconds.

Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic set for UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden

Posted on by Josh Nason

A long-discussed fight between UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former champion Stipe Miocic is official.

Announced Friday night by Dana White, Jones will defend against Miocic at UFC 295 on Saturday, November 11th in the company’s annual trip to New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Earlier this year, the 35-year-old Jones returned from a lengthy absence and won the vacant title in a fight with Cyril Gane in his first ever trip in the division after a Hall-of-Fame level run at light heavyweight.

In similar fashion, Miocic will return after nearly three years off himself in an effort to kick off his third reign with the belt. The 40-year-old was last seen losing the title to Francis Ngannou in March 2021 which followed his trilogy of fights with Daniel Cormier.

The news comes on the heels of rumblings that Ngannou, who had a very public falling out with UFC and White when they went their separate ways this year, will fight Tyson Fury in the former’s first-ever boxing match. Ngannou also signed with the PFL this year and is expected to return to MMA next year.