Alexander Volkanovski has provided an in-depth breakdown of Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane.
With UFC 285 only days away, analysts and fighters have been weighing in on how the main event could play out. Gane is undeniably a force to be reckoned with, but Jones is arguably the greatest fighter of all time. The question is, will ‘Bones’ be able to replicate his light heavyweight success at heavyweight?
During a video posted to his YouTube channel, Volkanovski discussed Jones potentially utilizing his grappling skills against Gane:
“The size difference and then fighting someone that’s so calculated. Does the wrestling come into play? I think Jon Jones definitely has the tools to do that, so I think that’s something that he’s gonna do, which is gonna be cool to see… You wanna see him mix it up. You wanna see this chess match that it’s probably gonna be.”
Volkanovski went a step further by saying Jones needs to mix in his wrestling to find success:
“Ciryl Gane’s gonna make it hard for him. He’s not just gonna come forward and walk into range, so that’s when I think he [Jones] might start level-changing, threatening takedowns, maybe touching the leg, look like he’s committing, coming up with elbows, and really mixing that up to at least start to land some of those strikes. I think he definitely needs to engage with some of that wrestling to really throw off Gane, especially with how calculated Gane is.”
Jones used to prioritize his wrestling skills, but he seemed to rely on his striking more in his last few fights at light heavyweight. ‘Bones’ might have to return to a grappling-heavy approach to secure the vacant heavyweight championship at UFC 285.
‘Bon Gamin’ is an elite striker with plenty of experience at heavyweight. Gane’s only major flaw was exposed against Francis Ngannou when the power puncher grappled his way to victory against the Frenchman. ‘Bones’ is a much better grappler than Ngannou, revealing a potential path to victory for the former light heavyweight champion.
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Watch Alexander Volkanovski discuss the UFC 285 main card below:
Alexander Volkanovski praises Ciryl Gane’s striking
Ciryl Gane made his UFC debut in August 2019, winning his first seven fights before losing to Francis Ngannou. ‘Bon Gamin’ then bounced back with a TKO against Tai Tuivasa. Among his eight UFC wins, the 32-year-old finished three opponents by KO/TKO, utilizing his Muay Thai background.
During the same YouTube video, Alexander Volkanovski praised Gane’s striking by saying:
“Ciryl Gane, he is legit. I don’t think Jon Jones has ever fought a striker like [Gane]. Obviously Alexander Gustafsson is very technical as well, he’s very unpredictable… Gane is a lot more of a neater striker. He can fight well on the back foot, doesn’t put himself out of position too many times. He’s very good at his shot selections, doesn’t take unnecessary risks. He’s a very very calculated striker. He’s definitely the most calculated striker Jon Jones has ever fought.”
Before Jon Jones makes his Octagon return, there are four other fights on the UFC 285 main card – Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett, Mateusz Gamrot vs. Jalin Turner, Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso in the co-main event with the women’s flyweight championship on the line.
The event goes down on March 4 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
