Jon Jones Did Not Want UFC 285 Opponent To Be Ciryl Gane
After a three-year layoff, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is making his heavyweight debut. The UFC legend will fight former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. Although, Jones had other opponents in mind for UFC 285. Instead, he wanted to fight Francis Ngannou or Stipe Miocic.
In an interview with John Morgan for MMA Underground, Jones explained why Gane was not his initial opponent preference.
“It does [take away from my return not being Ngannou],” Jones said. “I feel like Francis is the more intimidating of the two. I feel like just as far as Americans go, I feel like he’s more known in America. Francis is this big, scary, intimidating man and whereas Ciryl is relatively unknown. Obviously, Francis has the belt so taking it from him would have been nice. It’s a completely different fight stylistically.
“I think the fight that meant the most to me was fighting Stipe Miocic. That’s the fight that actually means the most to me because Stipe is the greatest heavyweight of all time. I’m not looking past Ciryl Gane at all. I’m very honored to fight Ciryl Gane and I knew it would be happening eventually, inevitably, but that’s the fight I was really bummed didn’t happen.”
I mean, can you blame Jones? In terms of building a legacy, Gane’s name does not add as much value as Ngannou’s or Miocic’s. Ngannou was the sitting heavyweight champion and one of the scariest fighters on the roster. For Jones, taking the belt off Ngannou would be more impactful than winning a vacant belt. Meanwhile, a win over Miocic, the consensus heavyweight GOAT, would have been historic.
Thankfully for Jones, a bout with Miocic is not off the table. If Jones is able to get a win over Gane, Miocic may be next in line for a title shot. Miocic even said he wanted to fight the winner in July. A heavyweight run with wins over Gane and Miocic would be historic, to say the least.
A bout between Jones and Ngannou is still possible though. Sure, it is unlikely, but Ngannou is a free agent. That does not mean he can not come back to the UFC.
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