Robert Whittaker thinks Jon Jones will have his way with Ciryl Gane on the ground.
After heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou parted ways with the UFC, Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) will face Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) for the vacant title in the UFC 285 main event March 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Gane looked untouchable in his MMA career until he ran into Ngannou. Ngannou employed a grapple-heavy approach to stifle and defeat Gane, and Whittaker thinks Jones can do the same – and more.
“Jon Jones is going to take (Gane) down and lay on him and just finish him there,” Whittaker told Fox Sports Australia. “Jones’ wrestling is next-caliber. Nobody comes close to what Jon Jones can produce in the octagon, and this is my opinion.
“If you look at his statistics, he can take people down with ease. He can grapple them with ease. He can strike with the best of them. He’s got cardio and strength and power and height and physique. He has it all. And Jones probably has the highest IQ in the game. He can see a weakness and he’ll exploit it.”
Former middleweight champion Whittaker had high praise for ex-light heavyweight king Jones and said he’s the greatest fighter in history.
“Jon Jones is the best of all time – of all time, pound-for-pound greatest of all time,” Whittaker said. “What he did to his opponents, and to the division, and as a champion, nobody has come close to that level of supremacy and domination. He is a freak of nature.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.
