In the Clinch: All Eyes on Heavyweight Debut of Jon Jones, UFC 285 – Former light heavyweight king Jon Jones will step back into the octagon Saturday at UFC 285 after a three-year layoff and a new mindset.
Former interim champion and current No. 1 Ciryl Gane (11-1-0), 32, will welcome “Bones“ to the heavyweight division with the title on the line. It’s an opportunity for the Frenchman to make a statement and capture the undisputed title in one fell swoop.
Many fans are wondering if Jones has been able to move on from his personal issues and is mentally healthy after these issues derailed his previous reigns in the light heavyweight division.
A good thing is that Jones has been slowly building up to this debut. Physically, he looks tremendous, and he has been saying all the right things in the preamble. He even reached out to former announcer, Daniel Cormier, on social media, inviting him to commentate the fight.
Given the history between the two, for Cormier to publicly appreciate the gesture says something genuine about the overture.
Of course, not everything is apple pie and blue skies. Jones no longer trains at Jackson-Wink. There are probably other relationships in need of repairing. And Jones is back at the scene of many of his past incidents. It’s a test of much more than the competition in the octagon.
This fight is a test for Gane too. He and his team failed to realize Francis Ngannou was fighting with a bum knee in the unification bout. Then, Tai Tuivasa almost knocked him out before battling back to victory. They will need to be extremely prepared as these mistakes will be costly against Jones.
This fight can go anywhere with the skills of these two. The overall experience advantage goes to Jones, but Gane has the direct heavyweight experience. The aggressiveness of Gane could make the difference.
The octagon will reveal all.
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