Jones Labels Gane ‘Most Incomplete Fighter In Top 5’

Jones is looking forward to another win in the Octagon on Saturday night because he knows he can outwork his opponent Ciryl Gane.

Jon Jones is using some MMA Math to convince himself that Ciryl Gane has no chance of winning at UFC 285.

Jones and Gane face each other on March 4th for the vacant UFC heavyweight championship. During a media day appearance, “Bones” explained why he thinks he’ll beat “Bon Gamin” handily if Gane is the same fighter who showed up against Francis Ngannou.

“I feel like Ciryl is the most incomplete fighter in the top five right now,” Jones declared. “He has really good striking, and he has really good footwork. But I’ve watched his fights. He got tired against Francis Ngannou. All that fancy footwork, him supposedly being the fastest heavyweight we’ve ever seen? All of that went away. One or two takedowns, making him earn getting back up to his feet? That tired him out big time.”

Ngannou and Gane fought at UFC 270 back in January 2022. Gane took an early lead, winning the first two rounds with superior movement and striking prowess. In the third round, Ngannou stopped trying to hit Gane on the feet and turned to his wrestling, grinding out the last three rounds for a decision win.

‘I’m a wrestler, and it’s a different type of endurance,” Jones continued. “A lot of people don’t like having someone on top of them and having to earn their way back up to their feet. I watched Francis Ngannou in that last fight. Francis, he could barely move his feet, he could barely left his legs, he was moving so slowly. And Gane didn’t destroy Francis, you know what I mean?”

“Francis wins his fights by first-round knockouts, second round knockouts. Francis outworked Ciryl Gane. Ciryl Gane’s coach said it best: Ciryl is talented, Francis is a hard worker. Since when has Francis become a guy that outworks others? His gift is knockout power. [Ciryl] got outworked by Francis, that tells me a lot.”

While Jones underscored the fact that he still respects Ciryl Gane as an opponent, he is definitely coming into Las Vegas with a lot of confidence.

“I watch that fight every night and I just see Francis exhausted laying on top of Ciryl Gane, not even trying to hurt him,” Jones finished. “Just satisfied being on top. And I saw no offense from the ground. I just don’t see myself losing to a guy like Ciryl Gane. Not getting outworked by Francis. I just can’t imagine him outworking me when he couldn’t outwork Francis.”

UFC 285 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and is headlined by Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight championship and a women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso. Also on the card: Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Geoff Neal, and the UFC debut of Bo Nickal. Make sure to tune in to MMA Mania on March 4th for all the updates and highlights from the event.