Fernand Lopez expects Jon Jones to quickly resort to grappling against Ciryl Gane.
Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) meets Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) for the vacant heavyweight championship in the UFC 285 headliner on March 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gane’s head coach, Lopez, respects Jones’ striking ability but doesn’t think he can stand with his star student.
“Absolutely,” Lopez told MMA Junkie of Jones wrestling. “I think that no matter what Jon Jones or his team will say, they have a Plan A as wrestling. No matter what they do in the first round, they will try the wrestling as soon as this thing starts. I’m not saying that Jon Jones will not catch Ciryl there and here, time to time. I believe he’s very good at striking, I believe he can touch anyone. But let’s be serious: Ciryl is something on the feet.
