LAS VEGAS – Ciryl Gane is sending fair warning to Jon Jones that a wrestling-heavy game plan isn’t going to work out when they meet for the vacant UFC heavyweight title.
Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is set to be the man who welcomes Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) back to the octagon after more than three years when they meet in the main event of UFC 285 on March 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
The fight came together after Francis Ngannou hit an impasse with the UFC brass in contract negotiations. He was stripped of the heavyweight belt and has been released from the organization. UFC president Dana White said Stipe Miocic was the first candidate to get the bout with Jones, but when it didn’t come to fruition, it went to Gane.
“I’m really happy to be the first guy in this division fighting with Jon Jones,” Gane told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 217 post-fight news conference. “And I’m sure it’s going to be – he’s a great athlete.”
Gane admitted he’s admired Jones as “one of the GOATs” in the sport since he started his MMA career, and said “it’s crazy” that they are less than two months away from meeting inside the cage.
Jones arguably is the greatest fighter in the sport’s history, and Gane said he’s eager to test his fight IQ against someone with the credentials of “Bones.”
There are a lot of unknowns about Jones gives his layoff and move up from the light heavyweight division. Gane has been far more active, and is just one year removed form his lone career loss. He suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Ngannou at UFC 270 in January 2021 when he was outwrestled in the late rounds and lost on the scorecards.
Although grappling seems to be the biggest advantage for Jones on paper, Gane doesn’t see it as a liability going into UFC 285. In fact, he thinks it would be a mistake for Jones to craft a strategy around grappling.
“He’s going to stay well-rounded,” Gane said. “I don’t think he’s going to prove something. I think he just wants to win his fight against me, and I don’t know what is a good way to win against me. Of course, some people like to say my wrestling game is not good because of the fight with Francis, but this is not the case. I was not focused on just that. I’m well-rounded, too. I can imagine a fight where we’re going to stay on the feet and maybe we’re going to try some time to go down.”
For Gane, the stakes don’t get much bigger than what he’ll experience at UFC 285. He’s fighting a legendary opponent for one of the most historic divisional titles in MMA, and while the individual feat of handing Jones his first true loss carries perhaps more magnitude than winning the belt, Gane said he’s motivated to experience both.
“Both, because I never had this belt, and because fighting a guy like that is going to be really crazy,” Gane said. “So I don’t have a good answer (for which is bigger).”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.
