Exclusive: Ciryl Gane Not Afraid of Jon Jones & Shares his Prediction: ‘I’ll Be the GOAT’

'Bon Gamin' is not worried about 'Bones' wrestling prowess, believes he will return in form and predicted the fight

Ciryl Gane, Jon Jones
Credit: Ciryl Gane, Jon Jones (via Instagram)
  • Ciryl Gane is not worried about the wrestling danger of Jon Jones
  • Gane believes Jones will be ready for a move up to the heavyweight
  • He predicted a cerebral showdown with ‘Bones’

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been out of action since defeating Dominick Reyes in Feb. 2020 at UFC 247. He relinquished the title following the win and embarked on a mission to become the heavyweight champion. Three years later, he will finally make his debut in the heavyweight division against former interim UFC heavyweight titleholder Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 on Mar. 4.

Ciryl Gane breaks down the stylistic matchup with Jon Jones

In an exclusive interview with James Lynch for Middle Easy, Ciryl Gane shared his breakdown of the nearing showdown with Jones. He is not worried about the wrestling danger Jones presents and expects a high-level fight.

“I think he has a better wrestling game, of course,” said Gane. “But I think I have some strengths that are better than him. It’s going to be a game, a real game. We are going to try to impose our style. He’s going to try to impose his style against mine. It’s going to be a great game. He has good fight IQ and me too. So, that’s really interesting and I like to play like that.

“We are really not afraid about that. A lot of people talk about the wrestling game of Francis but it was more about the power. But we did make some mistakes against Francis. That’s why after this fight we did really great work at the gym and now we are confident about that.”

Gane doesn’t think the layoff will affect Jones

Despite a three-year hiatus, ‘Bon Gamin’ is confident Jones will be ready for his return to the octagon, even at a higher weight class he’s never competed in before.

“Yes, of course, it’s always better to keep some activity to keep on the run. But I’m sure he did a great camp. He probably did a lot of sparring and some stuff like that. We like to say that in the gym that maybe you don’t have any fight during some years but maybe you did a lot of war, a lot of sparring in the training and this is the fight. This is the real fight. When you do sparring at the gym, and real sparring close to the real fight, it is like a real fight. So even if he didn’t fight for three years, maybe he did a lot of sparring during this time.

“A lot of people think he’s not going to be ready for the heavyweight division. He’s an athlete like I am. For me, he’s going to make a good jump in the division. He did a lot of years to get powerful and now he will transition. I’m confident for him. He’s going to be ready, heavy, fast, and yeah, speed will of course be a bit less. But he’s going to be ready.”

Gane shared his prediction

Gane predicted both men will try to impose their will on each other. Although he will face arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time, Gane feels no pressure going into the bout.

“I have my fingers crossed. We are doing a really great camp. I’m in my shape. I’m good. I’m feeling so good. I got no pressure. The people who think I have pressure because he’s thee GOAT, he’s this and that… for me, I feel so happy and lucky to be able to do that. I’m going to jump in the cage and do what I like to do.

“We’re going to fight a smart guy, it’s going to be a great game, and we have a lot of beautiful bonuses. Maybe if I win, I’m going to win the GOAT and the belt. I’m so happy about that. So, no pressure.”

There is a lot of anticipation for the return of Jones. He will face Gane for the undisputed UFC heavyweight title next month at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Published on February 7, 2023 at 6:01 pm
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