Jon “Bones” Jones declared to a crowd of thousands — including President-elect Donald Trump — that “Jesus loves you” and gave God the glory after keeping his undisputed UFC world heavyweight champion title by defeating Stipe Miocic.
“I tell you what, man, I cannot take credit for a gift like this, and I really owe it all to Him,” the 37-year-old fighter told host Joe Rogan after winning his match to retain the heavyweight title at UFC 309 on Saturday night in Madison Square Garden.
“I know that there’s millions of people around the world watching right now, and I just want to let you guys know that Jesus loves you so much. That’s all I’ll say about that,” he said.
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Jones (28-1) dominated Miocic (20-5) ahead of his TKO victory at 4:29 of the round, ESPN reported. The final shot was a spinning back kick to Miocic’s midsection in the third round. With the victory, Jones extended his UFC record to 16 title fight wins.
Thousands attended the highly-anticipated event, including Trump, who sat ringside alongside Elon Musk, UFC CEO Dana White, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and singer Kid Rock.
“A big, big thank you to President Donald Trump for being here tonight,” Jones said before presenting Trump with the belt and imitating the president-elect’s viral dance. “I’m proud to be a great American champion. I’m proud to be a Christian-American champion.”
Trump, who smiled and pointed after Jones imitated his dance, invited the fighter to the White House when he takes office next year as the 47th president of the United States.
The son of a Pentecostal pastor, Jones often expresses his beliefs publicly and even has “Philippians 4:13” tattooed on his chest: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
In a 2019 interview, Jones elaborated on the meaning of this tattoo, stating, “I remember that I represent being able to do all things through Christ. And that is overcoming, that is being strong. […] I have to be strong for the people that see my tattoo and believe it. I’ve gotta be strong for the King.”
The fighter frequently references his faith in interviews and on social media, attributing his successes and resilience to his relationship with God.
Jones’s father, Pastor Arthur Jones of Mount Sinai Church of God in Christ in Binghamton, New York, previously revealed that he did not initially encourage his son’s desire to pursue an MMA career.
“I wanted him to preach,” the pastor said. “I tried to discourage him from being a fighter. I told him you don’t want to do that. You can do other things. Be a pastor.”
But over time, the pastor said he saw a connection between his son’s faith and the MMA.
“In biblical times, there was always warfare: David and Goliath, Sampson, the enemies of the Israelites,” the older Jones said. “They fought in the valleys, on the hills, in the mountains. My son trains for every fight, not just physically but spiritually.”
“He was born like that,” Jones said. “Even when he was a baby. He didn’t have to say ‘pick me up.’ You knew. Even when he cried, he would look you in the eye. Even then, he just had a commanding presence.”
