This week’s UFC 285 marks the return to active competition for one of MMA’s greatest athletes, Jon Jones, at heavyweight nonetheless!
Five early prelim bouts begin at 3:15 p.m. PT with four preliminaries kicking off at 5 p.m. PT. Finally, at 7 p.m. PT, the two-title bout main card drops.
Jon Jones -160 vs. Cyril Gane +135
Heavyweight (265 pounds) Championship | Main Event
Finocchiaro: I’ve long maintained that Jones is the most complete, lethal mixed martial artist to date when one considers aggression, size/length, athleticism, fight arsenal, and level of opponent faced.
Entering this fight, hesitation around the currently unranked Jones centers on his being away from competition for some three years, the fact that he’s now thirty-five years old as well the added weight he’s acquired to compete as a heavyweight.
Jones, a former championship Juco wrestler, will be an inch taller than Gane and will hold a three-inch reach advantage. He enters with a superior fighting pedigree, and he possesses a more complete fight arsenal founded in wrestling but completed with a black belt in Gaidojutsu and a purple belt in BJJ.
Jones is complete fighter, but after three years away, with this added weight and against this formidable foe, what can we expect? How will Jones navigate in this new weight class if/when this fight goes into the championship rounds?
Gane, ranked number one in the heavyweight rankings has been quite active, climbing the heavyweight ranks the last three years while Jones has been away. A fighter with a kickboxing base, Gane is a unique specimen. He moves like a middleweight, yet he possesses the striking power of a heavyweight delivered with precision, speed, ferocity and intent.
Gane is relatively new to the UFC and combat sports overall. He relies on deft footwork, evasive defense and precision volume striking, often set up by the employment of damaging kicks which effectively maim opponents. From there, damaged foes become somewhat immobile, which allows the nimble Gane to close in for the stoppage.
I firmly believe leg kicks will be foundational to Gane’s attack in this bout.
A professional fighter since 2018, Gane is 8-1 in the UFC, and he’s defeated legitimate competition, though none of the athletes Gane has competed against were able to present him with any threat whatsoever when it came to wrestling/grappling.
Still in development as a fighter and regarded as somewhat singularly versed, Gane finds himself with a great opportunity. The questions regarding Gane revolve around his lack of wrestling ability, the experience he gives away to Jones, and finally, the level of competition he’s faced, acknowledging that it’s Jones who is stepping up a weight class.
Jones' game plan will be to immediately smother Gane and force him to expend energy trying to defend takedowns while he strives to keep Jones from clasping onto him.
Gane must manage space and be able to navigate in space. He must attempt to make this a classic kickboxing match where his footwork, athleticism, distance control, and strike evasion may be displayed.
Jones' focus is acute because he is aware of the formidable challenge Gane presents, but that also means there is some pressure on the GOAT to perform to solidify his position as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.