And Jon Jones was perfect at UFC 309 this past weekend (Sat., Nov. 16, 2024), stopping Stipe Miocic with a brutal spinning back kick to defend his Heavyweight title from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City (watch highlights).
After the fight, during UFC 309’s post-fight press conference (watch here), “Bones” revealed he had specifically trained the spinning back kick that stopped Miocic … for six months.
And he credits Bruce Lee, as well as a local Albuquerque, N.M., martial artist for the perfect placement.
“One thing that I’m really excited about was that spinning back kick,” Jones said. “I want to give a shoutout to taekwondo coach Paige Bates…. We started about six months ago doing that spinning back kick. He would come over to my house three days a week, and I worked that same kick from both stances three hours a week for several months.
“Bruce Lee says, ‘He doesn’t fear the man who knows 10,000 kicks, but fears the man who has worked one kick 10,000 times,’” Jones added. “Man, I put a lot of work in with that spinning back kick, and it’s getting faster and more unpredictable — there is really no telling when it’s coming.
“It’s a devastating shot,” Jones concluded.
Leave it to Jones to be utterly obsessed with a kick to the point where it’s unpredictable. He also added that if done right, “it can drop an elephant.”
And remember that this isn’t the first time Jones has practiced a finishing move that proved successful inside the Octagon. Indeed, after his Heavyweight debut at UFC 285, footage leaked of Jones learning a takedown (see it here) that he used to get Ciryl Gane down and submit the hulking Frenchman (rewatch it here).
And it certainly won’t be his last.
For complete UFC 309 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.