UFC 285: Jon Jones Vs. Ciryl Gane Press Conference-Here’s What Happened

Ahead of their fight at the T-Mobile Arena on March 4th, 2023, Jon Jones faced off against former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane in the pre-fight presser.

Jones and Gane are set to compete for the heavyweight crown, which has been up for grabs since Francis Ngannou left the UFC last year.

In chief support, reigning flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko takes on Alexa Grasso. Shevchenko’s last fight was against Taila Santos, where she had to demonstrate her best to come out with a victory.

Bo Nickal, an up-and-coming athlete, will launch his career in the UFC by facing Jamie Pickett. To add to the excitement, Geoff Neal and Shavkat Rakhmonov will go head-to-head in a highly-anticipated welterweight bout.

And to round things off, Jalin Turner and Mateusz Gamrot are set to compete in a lightweight showdown.

Jones And Gane’s Quotes

When questioned about his initial views on his opponent, Jones had a conflicting reaction.

“Ciryl seems like a nice guy. Seems like a – you know, he’s a great fighter. Great footwork, great striking, ambidextrous in his stances – and I think it’s going to be a great fight.

“I don’t think defensively he’s a very strong kickboxer. He has a really nice offense. Like I said, his defense is mainly in his footwork, and two other big holes are jiu-jitsu and wrestling,” Jones.

When it was his moment to address the crowd, Gane expressed his thoughts about a few of the matters Jones mentioned.

He confessed that he had erred by not giving enough consideration to Ngannou’s wrestling skills leading up to their UFC 270 heavyweight championship match.

That is why he made sure to train adequately on that aspect in preparation for his fight against Jones.

“Everybody knows the level of wrestling of Jon Jones, but I’m focused about that. I’m focused on it, so we worked on it. We’re going to be ready for him,” Gane.

Outcome

The betting experts predict that Jones will likely beat Gane and win another title in another weight class. As a result, Jones is the frontrunner and has a money line of -165.

Ciryl, on the other hand, is being presented with an underdog value of +140. Shevchenko is usually the favorite in her matches, and this is no exception.

This time around, the betting line is -800 in favor of Shevchenko. Even though Grasso is the underdog with a line of +575, she should not be underestimated.