In the recently finished UFC 285 pay-per-view fight, Jon Jones was declared the undisputed heavyweight champion. In the opening round of their main-event match, Jones quickly dispatched Ciryl Gane, pinning the Frenchman.
Jones’ ambition to challenge himself led to his decision to switch to the heavyweight class. Prior to UFC 285, “Bones” repeatedly asserted that he would choose a matchup with former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou over the Gane battle. That bout, however, was never held because Ngannou left the UFC after contract discussions fell through.
Dana White, the president of the UFC, has ruled out the prospect of Francis Ngannou ever returning to the organisation. Meanwhile, Ngannou referred to himself as “The Heavyweight King” and praised Jon Jones for winning at UFC 285.
At the UFC 285 press conference, White was questioned about his intentions in arranging a fight between Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. White answered:
“I made an effort to start a fight. It won’t ever take place. For three years, we made an effort to battle with him [Ngannou]. You must be motivated to fight. Everyone enjoys watching fights. Francis won’t fight if he doesn’t want to; you can’t force him. That probably wouldn’t have turned out any different.”
Moreover, White denied any correlations between the individual performances of Jones and Ngannou against Ciryl Gane. He continued, saying:
“If Gane hadn’t gone for the heel hook in the Francis fight, he would have prevailed. You can’t even begin to compare Jon Jones to Francis Ngannou or Ciryl Gane. He entered there and completed. I’m not sure… I’m still having a hard time believing what I saw.”
Daniel Cormier reacts to Jon Jones putting on a “great performance” against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285
The heavyweight debut of Jon Jones was a resounding triumph. In the main event matchup at UFC 285, Jones continued where he left off, defeating Ciryl Gane by submission in the first round.
It didn’t take Jones long to knock Gane to the ground and position him in an advantageous position against the cage.
Gane appeared to be resisting the choke, but Jones applied pressure, causing the Frenchman to collapse. At 2:04 in the opening round, “Bones” caused Gane to submit.
Jones and former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier have fought each other twice in the past, and Cormier responded to Jones’ performance at UFC 285 in an interview with ESPN. He declared:
“The show was excellent. Jones assured everyone who would listen that this would be simple. that the two were incompatible. He demonstrated that by going outside. What Jon Jones did to Ciryl Gane in that bout was unimaginable.”