Getty Jon Jones & Ciryl Gane
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones believes he’s already faced a tougher test on the feet than his upcoming opponent Ciryl Gane. And that was Thiago Santos.
“Bones” and Gane will fight for the vacant heavyweight title on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the UFC 285 headlining act. The contest will mark Jones’ first fight in over three years, as well as his debut north of 205 pounds.
Since Jones has been away from the Octagon, “Bon Gamin” (11-1) has stamped himself as the division’s No. 1 contender. He’s riding the momentum of his third-round knockout of Tai Tuivasa in September. The Frenchman fought for the divisional championship against Francis Ngannou prior to that in January 2021, and he suffered the first defeat of his professional mixed martial arts career — losing via unanimous decision.
Gane is touted as a striking savant and possibly the most technically sound at heavyweight. He boats five wins by KO/TKO. But according to Jones, Santos provided a sturdier test on the feet than what he thinks Bon Gamin will offer.
“Man I just finished watching my Thiago Santos fight again,” Jones tweeted on February 26. “I think it’s crazy that you guys consider gane the most technical kickboxer I’ve ever faced. Everything Thiago did have bad intentions on it. Dude had lightning speed, power, explosiveness. Crazy versatility.”
Santos vied for Jones’ light heavyweight strap in 2019, but he fell short in the judges’ eyes. Bones was granted the win via split decision, even though many watching the bout live scored it for the Brazilian. It also came out after the fact that Santos had torn his left knee’s ACL, PCL, MCL and meniscus during the five-round affair.
Jones Pointed to the Lack of Defense Gane’s Last Few Opponents Offered
Bones continued with his thoughts on Bon Gamin, tweeting that Gane’s last three opponents — Tuivasa, Ngannou and Derrick Lewis — had “terrible defense.”
“Ganes last three opponents had terrible defense,” Jones wrote. “Those guys couldn’t stop a kick if their life depended on it. He’s fought flat footed boxers his last three fights.”
Gane’s title aspirations were put on hold by Ngannou during their UFC 270 clash due to the then-champion switching things up by taking Gane to the canvas repeatedly during the latter part of their fight. Ngannou had never utilized offensive wrestling so successfully in the way he did against Gane, which surprised onlookers.
Well, it appears that Jones sees himself as a level above the wrestling credentials of Gane’s former opponents. “Best wrestler he ever fought was Francis, that’s wild,” he continued. “No offense to my boy Derek Lewis, I love Derek.”
Jones Worked With Henry Cejudo in Preparation for UFC 285
Jones shared a team photo via Instagram of him and his team after completing his UFC 285 training camp. Most notably, Henry Cejudo is featured in the photo. The former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion is an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling and coupled with Jones’ tweets about Gane’s grappling abilities, it’s likely Bones’ has spent a lot of time sharpening his wrestling ahead of his heavyweight debut.
“Thankful to have completed yet another training camp! I made some great memories over these last few months,” Jones wrote. “Made what I believe some lifelong friendships, some friends became brothers. I was blessed to experience teamwork in a way that I’ve never experienced before.
“I can confidently say these last few months together has made us all better men. I want to thank each and everyone of you who have contributed. First and foremost my beautiful fiancé, my family, the prayer warriors, coaches, trainers, business partners, the team, the fans. Couldn’t have made it this far without you, you all know who you are.”
See the photo below: