The news of the fight may have leaked somewhat prematurely on Saturday, but the booking itself was legit: Ciryl Gane will welcome Jon Jones to the heavyweight division at UFC 285 on March 4.
“I’m really happy to be the first guy in this division fighting with Jon Jones,” Gane said at the UFC Fight Night 217 post-fight press conference. “And I’m sure it’s going to be – he’s a great athlete.”
UFC president Dana White confirmed the bout while revealing that negotiations fell through with former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou for a potential fight with Jones. As a result, Ngannou was stripped of the belt and has been released of his contractual obligations with the promotion, and Gane vs. Jones will be for the vacant heavyweight title.
While Gane doesn’t possess the same fearsome knockout power as Ngannou, the Frenchman is confident that he might be a more difficult matchup for Jones than the ex-champ.
“I know I’ve got good footwork at first, I think I’m a little bit more well-rounded [than Ngannou],” Gane said. “I look a little bit more like Jon Jones. Yes, when you have a big guy that just wants to kill you with one punch, it’s more easier for a guy well-rounded and smart like Jon Jones to manage the situation. Me, also, I am not like that. I like to manage the situation. It’s going to be really good.”
There’s a little bit of the unknown surrounding Jones. While “Bones” is regarded as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of all time, it will have been more than three years since his last bout when he stands across the Octagon from Gane at UFC 285. Gane struggled to defend the takedown in his loss to Ngannou at UFC 270, but he doesn’t expect Jones to focus on any one area in their clash.
“He’s going to stay well-rounded. I don’t think he’s going to prove something. I think he just wants to win his fight against me, and I don’t know what is a good way to win against me,” Gane said. “Of course, some people like to say my wrestling game is not good because of the fight with Francis, but this is not the case. I was not focused on just that. I’m well-rounded, too. I can imagine a fight where we’re going to stay on the feet and maybe we’re going to try some time to go down.”
Regardless of how the fight itself plays out, there’s no question it will be a surreal moment for Gane, who followed Jones during his rise to prominence as the youngest champion in UFC history.
“When I started watching this, Jon Jones was one of my favorite fighters,” Gane said. “More when I started MMA, because I’m a fan of every sport in MMA, and when you look at a guy like Jon Jones, who’s well-rounded like this, you really appreciate it. He’s the GOAT. Look at his career.
“Today, I’m a young fighter, and I think it’s the dream of every young fighter to fight against a GOAT. This is really crazy for me.”
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