UFC 285: Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane tips, stats and preview ahead of the heavyweight title clash
- Liam Hampton
- 2 March 2023
The UFC’s prodigal son returns at UFC 285 as Jon Jones takes on Ciryl Gane for the vacant Heavyweight title.
Jones became the youngest champion in company history after defeating Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 128. This weekend, his controversial career resumes at the T-Mobile Arena.
Jones hasn't set foot into the octagon since his victory over Dominic Reyes in 2020, a fight where several media outlets scored the fight for his opponent.
Despite his air of invincibility dissipating, Jones still enters this bout with an 18 fight undefeated streak and a fresh determination to return to the summit of the pound for pound rankings.
His opponent is Ciryl Gane, a heavyweight technician with exquisite striking and a superb ground game.
Gane's last outing was a headliner opposite Tai Tuivasa on home soil in France, winning a brutal slugfest where he sent his Aussie opponent to the canvas for the final time in round three.
Gane has made a habit of getting better as the fight goes on in his UFC career, only his UFC debut vs Raphael Pessoa was finished in the first half of the fight.
Jones also has made a habit of staying long in the octagon with his last early night being his win over Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 10 years ago, all his other nine fights since saw at least three rounds with seven seeing the final bell.
Key stats
At three years this is the longest hiatus of Jon Jones' career.
This is only the second time Gane has had a reach disadvantage in his UFC career, the other? His first career loss to Francis N'Gannou.
Suggested bets
Fight to go the distance.
Fight to go the distance and Jones to win.
Fight to go the distance and Gane to win.
