Jon Jones is soon to have his first fight after a long layoff. He will push his luck at the heavyweight division in the UFC main event of the evening Saturday against French tactical expert Ciryl Gane.
This is his first-ever outing at 265, while the co-main brings the 125-pound title combat between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso. Ciryl Gane is fluid in English, so those looking forward to the UFC presser, it might be entertaining.
The UFC 285 media day aired on MMAJunkie’s official channel on Wednesday. You can check the most entertaining details on the links below, and NYFights will choose the most interesting moments for you too.
Main And Co-Main Event
Jon Jones faced multiple doping charges in the past. His UFC 214 win over Daniel Cormier was overturned because his samples were positive for Turinabol, and there was a whole drama following his UFC 232 victory over Alexander Gustaffson. Yet, “Bones” feels cleared of doping history at the moment, and sees Ciryl Gane as “the most incomplete” top heavyweight.
On the other hand, the French 265-er was pretty much respectful on media day. Gane says he expects “beautiful Jon Jones” in his heavyweight debut.
Valentina Shevchenko was pretty much funny. Valentina reminded her opponent Alexa Grasso that she “knows her fears”. The Mexican 125-er says that Valentina Shevchenko is not on a decline despite a close fight versus Taila Santos. Let’s remember, Shevchenko defeated Santos on judges’ scorecards after five rounds of total war in her previous title bout.
The Rest Of The Main Card
Geoff Neal looked angry with the gamblers. Neal plans to “f*ck up your parlay with “easy” Shavkat Rakhmonov. Shavkat Rakhmonov believes he’s two fights away from the title shot if he defeats Neal.
Confident BJJ expert Mateusz Gamrot believes he can “quickly” finish Jalin Turner on short notice. Jalin Turner didn’t talk much about his opponent. Turner believes Drew Dober didn’t replace Dan Hooker because “he doesn’t want these problems”.
Bo Nickal believes the “inevitable” Khamzat Chimaev fight will be the biggest event in UFC history. Jamie Pickett says he didn’t know Bo Nickal before booking, but he’s ready to spoil his UFC debut.
Prelims
Cody Garbrandt believes TJ Dillashaw did “Conor McGregor USADA retirement”. Reminder – TJ was suspended in the past due to breaking of anti-doping policy. Trevin Jones believes Cody Garbrandt is still dangerous despite losing skid.
Derek Brunson hopes to earn “the Michael Bisping shot” to close his career. His opponent Dricus du Plessis wants to be “the greatest middleweight of all times” and plans to win two titles.
Where To Watch UFC 283 Press Conference?
You can enjoy the UFC 283 press conference on the official channel of the UFC. It will get underway at 8 PM ET on Thursday (2 PM CET).
Jon Jones Broke Down “Two Big Holes” He Sees In Ciryl Gane's Game
This was a pretty humble press conference, and there were no heavy words between the fighters. Yet, Ciryl Gane didn't look scared of the former UFC 205-pound champ Jon Jones. “Bones” initially praised Gane's footwork, striking, and ability to fight off both stances. But then he started criticizing some aspects of Gane's game.
NOTE: ALL THE TRANSCRIPTS WERE TAKEN FROM THE VIDEOS.
“I respect Ciryl Gane, I really do, but I study film constantly and I just see a lot of patterns,” Jones said. “When he’s in one stance, there’s things he really loves to do. He goes to the same well a lot. When he’s in the opposite stance, he has his tendencies. Outside of that, I realized that he doesn’t have much wrestling. He relies on evasion, trying to get away. He relies on jiu-jitsu instead of solid takedown defense, and same with the ground game. I watched Francis Ngannou be able to rack up maybe five, six minutes of top time in that fight, and Francis is not a guy that’s known to control people on the top.
“He does have the striking down. 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.”
Ciryl Gane Is Aware Of Jon Jones' Level Of Wrestling
Ciryl Gane Confessed he underestimated Francis Ngannou's wrestling in his previous title bout, but he doesn't plan to repeat the same mistake against Jones.
“Everybody knows the level of wrestling of Jon Jones, but I’m focused about that,” Gane said. “I’m focused on it, so we worked on it. We’re going to be ready for him.”
The former 265-pound interim champ confessed that Jon Jones' bout might be the greatest test of his career so far.
“Truly, I’m just focused on my performance,” Gane said. “I just want to do well in the cage against a big guy like him. It’s a big test for me. Maybe, and truly, the biggest test of my life.”
Stay tuned to the UFC 285 news, NY Fights has got you covered. This card looks stacked from top to bottom, this is your weekend to enjoy.
