UFC 285: Jon Jones wins heavyweight title in two minutes

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Saturday, March 4, 2023 | 6:30 p.m.

Updated Saturday, March 4, 2023 | 10:13 p.m.

Jon Jones had one last thing to say before he walked out of the UFC 285 octagon Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Or, more specifically, one last noise to make.

Jones grabbed commentator Joe Rogan’s microphone and let out a “bahhh” trying to emulate a goat. The implication being, of course, that he’s the greatest of all-time.

It’s hard to argue after he submitted Ciryl Gane via guillotine choke two minutes into UFC 285’s heavyweight championship main event, winning a title at a second weight class after long holding the light heavyweight strap. The victory was flawless despite a three-year layoff as Jones bulked up to make a long-awaited debut at mixed martial arts’ largest weight class.

“I’ve been working for this for a long time,” Jones said. “A lot of people thought I wouldn’t even be coming back. I would read that all the time, but I’ve been faithful to my goal, faithful to the mission.”

Gane never seemed to stand a chance, even with rumors of a Jones foot injury seemingly confirmed moments before the fight. The Nevada State Athletic Commission forced Jones to remove tape from his feet and toes as he entered the octagon.

Tearing it off took almost as long as the fight. Jones and Gane traded a few strikes with no one landing cleanly in the opening minute before the former scored a takedown.

He first tried for a rear-naked choke that wasn’t there, but wrestled his way to the fence and then attempted a guillotine. It was immediately deep, forcing Gane to tap out 124 seconds into the fight.

“I really had a strong conviction that I was going to get him down to the ground and the fight would be in my area,” Jones said. “I’ve been fighting since I was 12 years old and I feel more comfortable on the ground than ever.”

UFC 285 was extra thrilling for fans of submission grappling as four of the five fights on the main card finished via that method. A shocking upset occurred in the co-main event when Alexa Grasso took down longtime women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko after a failed spinkick and locked in a rear-naked choke.

Shevchenko tapped out, losing officially via a face crank at 4:34 of the fourth round.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment my whole life,” Grasso said through tears afterwards in the octagon.

Big-time welterweight prospect Shavkat Rakhmonov got a rear-naked choke of his own at 4:17 of the third round, maintaining his undefeated record by beating Geoff Neal. And Bo Nickal stayed perfect at middleweight, forcing Jamie Pickett to tap out via arm triangle choke at 2:54 of the fourth round.

Nickal, who won three national championships in wrestling at Penn State, vowed that one day he would be the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in his post-fight interview. Right now, that route runs through Jones.

And the new heavyweight champion already has plans for what he wants to do next. Jones challenged longtime champion Stipe Miocic, who was sitting cageside, for a fight to headline International Fight Week in Las Vegas on July 8.

“You’re the greatest heavyweight of all-time,” Jones said. “And that’s what I want. I want it real bad.”

Miocic didn’t confront the new champion but shook his head on the big screen as Jones talked about beating him up. It will be a major challenge, but Jones has continued to top all of them.

Read below for live updates from throughout UFC 285 fight night.

Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane

First Round They circled for about a minute — including a brief break for an illegal groin strike by Gane — before Jones drug Gane to the ground. Jones' wrestling looked like every bit the mismatch for Gane that it was advertised to be as he got the Frenchmen down on his second attempt. Jones tried to get his back for a rear-naked choke but settled for a guillotine along he fence. Gane tapped quickly after Jones got into position. Jon Jones defeats Ciryl Gane via submission at 2:04 of the first round.

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso

Fourth Round It had been a slower round until the final minute. Then Grasso got Shevchenko down after the champion missed on a spinning back kick. Grasso took her back, sunk in a rear-naked choke and cranked until Shevchenko tapped for one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Shevchenko's four-year reign atop the women's flyweight division is over. Grasso submitted Shevchenko at 3:34 of the fourth round.

Third Round Shevchenko has gotten more comfortable on the feet and was arguably ahead in striking alone but that still didn't stop her from taking Grasso down. Shevchenko scored two takedowns in the round, and did a lot with them despite getting stood up by the referee to end the first. Shevchenko took Grasso's back on the second, but the challenger is tough and was able to get out and put the champion back in her full guard where most of the round was spent. This is now Shevchenko's fight to lose. Another 10-9 round for the champion to make the score 29-28 overall heading into the championship rounds.

Second Round Grasso continued to more than hold her own on the feet, but Shevchenko had enough of it. The champion began to rely on her grappling early, taking Grasso down and smothering her there for more than a minute. She worked for a submission but Grasso was able to work her way back up, at least for a little while. Shevchenko got another takedown before the round ended. It was a clear 10-9 for Shevchenko, making the score 19-19 overall.

First Round Grasso came to fight. It wasn't enough to really threaten Shevchenko, but the Mexican fighter did have her moments. Grasso found her range and connected with punches several times on Shevchenko. The champion landed too but the final moment belonged to Grasso, who took Shevchenko down in the final seconds. It wasn't a runaway but Grasso starts with a 10-9 nod.

Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov

Third Round Neal came out swinging and throwing caution to the wind, much to the applause of the now-packed T-Mobile Arena crowd. Rakhmonov didn't seem to mind either, at least for most of the round. He eventually clinched up after taking shot and landed some shots along the fence. The next embrace would be the decisive one though. Rakhmonov again closed the distance and worked his way around to Neal's back. Neal stayed standing but Rakhmonov locked in a rear-naked choke and forced a tapout. Shavkat Rakhmonov officially defeats Geoff Neal by submission at 4:17 of the second round.

Second Round Rakhmonov was content to stand with Neal as he continually got the best of their exchanges. Neal looked for mostly big momentum-changing shots, and though he may have landed one and grazed with another couple, he was consistently eating jabs and straight rights from Rakhmonov. The undefeated fighter hasn't been flawless, but he's in total control. It's 20-18 Rakhmonov after he won his second straight round.

First Round Rakhmonov stalked Neal for most of the round, and landed several big shots but the tide started to turn late. They had a fairly equal exchange in the final minute until Neal landed a right hand flush to Rakhmonov's jaw. The bell allowed him time to recover. It would have been interesting to see if Neal could have turned the big shot into something more, but it came too late. And he was too far behind. The frame goes to Rakhmonov, 10-9.

Mateusz Gamrot vs. Jalin Turner

Third Round The second round might have been relatively close but the third wasn't. Gamrot took Turner down, had him in compromising positions and generally won every second. He should a pretty clear decision. It's Gamrot 30-27 on the Sun's scorecard. Gamrot defeats Turner by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29).

Second Round Turner clipped Gamrot on a couple occasions near the middle of the round on the feet, but Gamrot eventually got him down again. Gamrot rode out the final 90 seconds on top of Turner, smashing his opponent with ground-and-pound from the side. It's a difficult to round to score because Turner had the bigger moments. But Gamrot had a lot more of them. Lean to 10-9 Gamrot, making the tally 20-18 through two rounds.

First Round "The Tarantula" Turner won the exchanges on the feet from distance. Problem is, more of the round was spent grappling where Gamrot, as expected, held a big edge. Gamrot controlled Turner on the ground, and got off some dirty boxing in clinch exchanges. Score the first frame 10-9 for Gamrot.

Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett

First Round They struck for maybe 20 seconds before the decorated former national champion wrestler Nickal got Pickett down. It was a formality from there. Pickett had nothing for Nickal's grappling as the latter sunk in a choke and maneuvered before getting a tapout in the latter half of the round. Nickall officially defeated Pickett at 2:54 of the first round via arm-triangle choke.

The big-fight feel is back tonight at T-Mobile Arena for UFC 285.

The UFC has continued to hold the largest share of its fight cards in its hometown of Las Vegas but most of them have taken place in its own Apex facility. Even the last few major events at T-Mobile Arena have been relatively short on starpower and/or stakes, at least in comparison to tonight’s card.

No one is questioning UFC 285 in either area. Jon Jones’ heavyweight debut in the main event against Ciryl Gane for the vacant championship belt is one of the most anticipated fights of the year.

And it’s not the only title fight. Long-reigning strawweight champion Valentina Shevchenko puts her belt on the line in the co-main event, taking on top contender Alex Grasso.

Shevchenko is a massive favorite — currently -900 at most sports books — but not even the biggest one on the pay-per-view card, which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Three-time Division 1 national championship wrestler Bo Nickal, who attended Penn State for his decorated college career, makes his UFC debut as an astronomical -2500 favorite in a middleweight bout against Jamie Pickett. Nickal gets the honors of opening the main card and potentially building a fan base ahead of what many are already regarding as a championship-caliber future.

Another undefeated fighter who some are calling a future champion, Shavkat Rakhmonov, gets a featured spot in the final bout before the title fights. The welterweight takes on veteran Geoff Neal, who missed weight to make their showdown officially a 175-pound catchweight bout.

In between Rakhmonov’s and Nickal’s fight is a likely firefight between lightweights Mateusz Gamrot and Jalin Turner.

Gamrot is a relatively short -220 favorite, the smallest line on the main card with the exception of Jones vs. Gane. Jones is currently a -160 favorite with Gane comng back at +140 but both fighters have a clear path to victory.

Gane should be able to take advantage of his size advantage with power punches if Jones has any growing pains adjusting to his new weight class. But if Gane hasn’t shored up his wrestling weakness, Jones could take him down repeatedly and smother him into a win.

It’s a fascinating matchup, one T-Mobile Arena is already packed in anticipation of watching.

Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for live updates from throughout the card and find preliminary-card results below.

Cody Garbrandt finished off the undercard with a unanimous-decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) win over Trevin Jones. The fight was spent at distance, but Garbrandt was able to outland Jones for the win.

Middlweight Dricus Du Plessis picked up a TKO win at the end of the second round when Derek Brunson's corner threw in the towel after repeated ground-and-pound shots. Brunson had Du Plessis in trouble in the first round, but things changed in the second round when grappling gave way to striking.

Amanda Ribas won a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 30-26) over Viviane Araujo in a women's flyweight bout. In a grappling-heavy affair, Ribas controlled position and inflicted more damage.

Marc-Andre Barriault defeated Julian Marquez by TKO at 4:12 of the second round. Barriault dominated the second, bloodying Marquez with punches and turning the tables after struggling to find his range in the first round.

Irish prospect Ian Garry stayed undefeated with a TKO victory over Song Kenan at 4:22 of the third round. Kenan caught Garry and nearly knocked him out late in the first round, but the latter otherwise dominated and guaranteed he'd one day be a UFC champion in his post-fight interview in the octagon.

Despite losing a point to penalty for a pair of unintentional groin strikes, Cameron Saaiman beat Mana Martinez by majority decision (29-26, 28-27, 28-28) in a catchweight 137-pound bout. Martinez missed weight to scratch the fight’s original bantamweight designation.

The arena first really started to fill in for Tabatha “Baby Shark” Ricci, a women’s straweight whom submitted Jessica Penne via armbar after a hip toss at 2:14 of the first round. “Now is the time for ‘Baby Shark,’” Ricci told the crowd afterwards. “The ‘Baby Shark’ era has begun.”

Farid Basharat beat Da’Mon Blackshear by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in a bantamweight bout.

Loik Radzhabov defeated Esteban Ricovics by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in a lightweight bout.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or