UFC 309 takeaways: Dana White needs to pay up for Jones-Aspinall

Jon Jones retained the UFC heavyweight title for the first time Saturday, defeating Stipe Miocic - and sending the former champion into retirement - with a devastating third-round TKO in the UFC 309 main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.

In the co-headliner, former lightweight king Charles Oliveira got back on track with a unanimous decision victory in a rematch with Michael Chandler.

Here are four takeaways from the pay-per-view event.

Time to back up the Brink's truck

UFC CEO Dana White isn't wrong when he says Jon Jones versus Tom Aspinall is one of the biggest fights in the sport, especially after Jones dismantled Miocic the way he did. Now it's time for White and the rest of the brass to do everything humanly possible to convince Jones to stick around and unify the belts.

By all accounts, that starts and ends with the number of zeros on Jones' check.

Jones has made it very clear in the last week that he prefers a superfight with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira over a unification bout against Aspinall. (Jones provided a few reasons why: legacy, money, and because Aspinall is a plain old "asshole.") But the heavyweight champ left fans with a sliver of hope Saturday night that maybe he really will fight Aspinall after all, saying it would take "f--k you money." Unlikely, maybe, but not impossible.

The UFC hasn't been known to back up the Brink's truck for too many fighters or fights, preferring to keep its 20% revenue share right where it is. But if there's any fight worth paying up for, this is it.

Of course, it's also on Jones to agree to the fight. But he will if the money's right. The UFC already lost out on a big fight between Jones and Francis Ngannou, so it wouldn't be a good look if it loses out on this one, too, especially as a company that prides itself on giving fans the fights they want.

It'd be a disservice to Jones, arguably the greatest fighter of all time; to Aspinall, the interim champion and the fighter many believe is the future of the division; and to the fans if the UFC doesn't do whatever it takes to make Jones-Aspinall happen.

Miocic didn't belong in there

Miocic's performance confirmed everyone's biggest fear: He looked every bit the 42-year-old man he is and was several steps behind Jones.

The UFC tried to justify giving Miocic a title shot by hyping him up as the greatest heavyweight in promotion history (which he is), and some people tried to reason that Miocic getting knocked out by Ngannou in 2021 didn't necessarily mean there was nothing left in the tank. But Father Time waits for no one, Ohio's finest included.

It wasn't nearly as bad as 58-year-old Mike Tyson stepping into the boxing ring against 27-year-old Jake Paul, but Miocic was hesitant and didn't have much to offer in the way of offense. At least it wasn't a first-round blowout, but it was still painfully obvious that Miocic didn't belong.

However, it was nice to see Miocic go out with a huge fight at the Garden, even if the bout itself didn't remotely go his way. Miocic is the most accomplished heavyweight in UFC history and deserved one last big payday before moving on to a new chapter in his life.

Chandler was entertaining in defeat - again

Chandler can win or lose, and he'll still put on a show every single time.

Oliveira dominated the first four rounds of the co-main event, controlling Chandler on the ground for over 13 minutes and outstriking him in each round.

But in the fifth round, Chandler hurt Oliveira with an overhand left, landed a flurry of ground-and-pound, and came oh so close to a dramatic Hail Mary knockout.

And just like that, Chandler became the story of the fight, even though Oliveira held on for a lopsided decision win that likely secured him a title shot against the winner between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan. Chandler got on the mic afterward and called out Conor McGregor and Max Holloway, and his next fight is guaranteed to be another big one.

Chandler's ability to thrill has kept him relevant, even if his performances inside the Octagon have made it clear he's a level below the very best at 155 pounds.

Bo Nickal hype cools down

There are multiple ways to look at the first decision win of Bo Nickal's career, an underwhelming fight against Paul Craig that had the fans at Madison Square Garden booing and calling the three-time Division I national wrestling champion "overrated."

Sure, it was a bit of a letdown since Nickal was a 17-1 betting favorite and was coming off three straight stoppage victories in the UFC. Most expected another ferocious finish and instead got a somewhat timid stand-up affair in which Nickal attempted zero takedowns and edged out Craig 54-47 in significant strikes. But Nickal still controlled the action for the most part against his toughest opponent yet, and these kinds of fight miles are crucial to his growth.

Nickal is still a promising prospect - one dud of a fight won't change that. And hey, he still won all three rounds. But Saturday's victory was proof he still has a long way to go before he's a top middleweight in the UFC. Getting to work with some of the world's best coaches and fighters at American Top Team is huge for Nickal. His wrestling background promises to take him a certain distance, too, but Nickal needs time to evolve his game.