Heavy stakes: Jon Jones returns to the octagon for his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023 | 2 a.m.

Combat sports often use phrases like “long-awaited” and “years in the making” to promote prizefights, so much so that such hype has essentially lost its meaning. But in the case of the UFC 285 main event set for March 4 at T-Mobile Arena, those sorts of superlatives are unequivocally true.

Jon Jones, whom many consider the best fighter of all time after a near-decade reign as the UFC’s light heavyweight champion, first shared his plans to move up to heavyweight in 2012. More than a decade later, it’s finally happening, in a showdown with Ciryl Gane for the UFC’s vacant heavyweight championship.

“Both are incredibly talented fighters,” UFC President Dana White said in a news conference announcing the event. “Ciryl Gane is a heavyweight that moves like a middleweight. He’s got a really well-rounded game, and Jon Jones is the best to ever do it, in my opinion. You couldn’t ask for a better fight.”

Several factors delayed Jones’ move up in weight class—a steady stream of light heavyweight contenders emerging, a string of legal and disciplinary problems, a desire to pack on more muscle for the shift and, most recently, a prolonged contract dispute with the UFC. Jones hasn’t fought since February 2020, when he defeated Dominick Reyes via unanimous decision for his 14th career title-fight victory.

White said negotiations finally ended last year, and that Jones was “literally ready to fight anyone” starting in October. But the UFC was desperate to book Jones against then-heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who was dealing with a contract impasse of his own.

The UFC and Ngannou ultimately decided they couldn’t resolve their differences, with the former shockingly releasing the latter and forgoing contract-matching rights. That left Gane, whom Ngannou narrowly defeated in his final UFC fight last year, and longtime former champion Stipe Miocic as the top remaining established heavyweights in the organization.

Miocic isn’t ready to fight at the moment, according to White, so Gane gets the first crack at the heavyweight Jones. Miocic is expected to face the winner.

“I’m really happy to be the first guy in this division to be fighting with Jon Jones,” Gane said in a news conference. “He’s a great athlete, so for me, he’s still going to be really strong in this division for sure.”

Few, if any, fights all year will be bigger than Jones vs. Gane. Here’s a closer look at both fighters leading up to the clash.

Jon Jones

• Age: 35

• Fighting out of: Albuquerque, New Mexico

• Record: 26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC (1 no contest)

• Biggest strength: Well-roundedness. There’s nothing Jones does poorly in the octagon, the biggest reason he became so feared at his apex when he fought consistently in the early-to-mid 2010s. He had a wrestling background but also used freakish athleticism and an 84.5-inch reach to rack up 10 knockouts and six submissions.

• Biggest weakness: Size. Jones has proven he can take a punch repeatedly, but he has never taken a punch from a 250-pound man like Gane. That’s what makes this fight so fascinating. No one would ever suggest Gane has shown a stronger skill set than Jones, but facing a much-larger man for the first time comes with inherent danger for a naturally lanky fighter like Jones.

• Significance of the fight: Legacy. The dwindling ranks of those who don’t consider Jones the best ever might officially reduce to zero if he becomes the ninth fighter in history to win a title at a second weight class. Take away his issues outside the octagon, and his résumé is flawless, with his only career loss coming via disqualification for illegal strikes in a match he was dominating.

• He said it: “Being out three years and in a new division, there’s a lot of questions that cause me to stay up long nights, but it keeps me sharp. It’s something that I feel like I didn’t have at light heavyweight toward the end, [when] it just felt like another day at the office. This doesn’t feel like another day at the office. This feels very different. The nerves, the anxiety, it’s all back. I do good when I’m under pressure,” Jones, who hasn’t yet spoken publicly since the fight was announced, told MMA Underground.

Ciryl Gane

• Age: 32

• Fighting out of: Paris, France

• Record: 11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC

• Biggest strength: Technical striking. Gane was a world-class muay thai fighter (with a 13-0 record) before crossing over into mixed martial arts less than five years ago. He’s masterful on his feet, both powerful and precise, and a class above virtually everyone he has ever faced.

• Biggest weakness: Wrestling. Ngannou came into the fight with Gane as an underdog but pulled the upset by ditching his usual boxing approach and controlling Gane on the ground. Ngannou had never won by decision in his career before repeatedly taking down Gane and earning the judges’ nods. Gane’s grappling troubles could be a big problem against Jones, though he says he’ll be more ready this time around after Ngannou’s strategy caught him completely off guard.

• Significance of the fight: A second chance. The loss to Ngannou came in January 2022, and it’s rare to get another title shot so quickly off such a poor performance. Gane did bounce back to knock out Tai Tuivasa in May, but he would have been much further back in line had it not been for Ngannou’s unforeseen exit from the UFC. Gane had previously won an interim title in 2021, when Ngannou was injured, but a win over Jones would give him the real belt.

• He said it: “Jon Jones was one of my favorite fighters when I started MMA, because I’m a fan of every sport in MMA, and when you look at a guy like Jon Jones, you really appreciate it. He’s the [greatest of all time]. I think he’s the dream of every young fighter to go against. … This is really crazy for me.”

This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.