MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC 285, a five-round vacant UFC heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane. The event takes place on Saturday, March 4 at T-Mobile Arena.
Jon Jones (-155)
Jones (26-1, 1 NC) is the former UFC light heavyweight champion. The 35-year-old American is regarded as one of the greatest pound-for-pound MMA fighters of all time, as well as the most dominant fighter in UFC history. Ever since joining the UFC in 2009, Jones has beaten everyone in his path save for a DQ loss to Matt Hamill. He has fought all sorts of different styles and has overcome all of them, becoming a legend along the way. The thing is, he hasn’t fought in over three years and is now moving up to the heavyweight division. Until we see it with our own eyes, we don’t know how he will fare in his new weight class. If anyone can make the move to a new weight class and succeed it’s someone of Jones’ pedigree, but the long layoff is certainly very concerning for him.
Ciryl Gane (+135)
Gane (11-1) is the former UFC interim heavyweight champion. The 32-year-old Frenchman joined the UFC in 2019 and since then he has beaten everyone in his way except for Francis Ngannou. A true natural at MMA, Gane has shown tremendous skills both on the feet and on the ground inside the Octagon. Other than a close loss to Ngannou, he has been mostly flawless inside the cage. He’s a true talent and he has all of the skills needed to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. If he goes in there and beats Jones in this matchup, it would put Gane on the path to superstardom.
Fight Breakdown: I can’t wait to see how Jones vs. Gane plays out. For me, Jones is the best MMA fighter I’ve ever seen. He’s certainly a special talent and regardless of how his heavyweight run goes, he’s the best light heavyweight ever, that’s for sure. But after missing over three years of action and now moving up to heavyweight, I have a lot of questions about Jones. I just feel like he’s a huge wild card here given how long he’s been away and the fact that he’s now fighting in a weight class where he has no experience. Down at 205lb, Jones had a huge reach and height advantage over his opponents, but he doesn’t have that up at heavyweight. Gane matches up well against Jones, and he’s also been far more active in recent years, not to mention he’s the younger fighter. He doesn’t have as much experience as Jones, but I feel better about going with Gane here given how good he’s looked and how quickly he is improving his overall game. Remember, Gane opened up as the favorite, and honestly, I think that’s right. While you can never count Jones out of a fight, I feel better about going with Gane here, and I’m even going to say he finished Jones via TKO.
Prediction: Ciryl Gane via TKO
