Israel Adesanya believes the three-year layoff of Jon Jones may be too much to overcome Saturday night when he makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon.
After dominating the 205-pound division for more than a decade, Jon Jones will finally make the move to heavyweight, challenging the division’s No. 1 ranked contender, Ciryl Gane, for the vacant UFC heavyweight championship. Fans and fighters alike are chomping at the bit to see how Jones performs with so many variables at play. That includes former UFC middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya who expressed some concern over the long layoff of Jon Jones during his UFC 285 predictions video on YouTube.
“Three years away from the game is a hard ask for any man,” Adesanya said. “Just to be away from fighting for that long, but there’s a special few that can actually f*ck off and come back and still look great and I feel like Jon’s one of them, but again, when you talk about a special few fighters, trust me, Ciryl’s one of those guys as well.”
Delivering his official pick, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is rolling with Cyril Gane to score the upset and capture the UFC heavyweight championship.
“I think because of activity to be honest and who he is, I’m gonna go Ciryl, but I won’t be surprised if ‘Bones’ wins,” Adesanya revealed.
Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane have their first-ever faceoff before the #UFC285 vacant title headliner. pic.twitter.com/RUCnxVJRwM
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 3, 2023
Israel Adesanya Offers Words of Advice to Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane
Before Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane step into the Octagon at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night, Israel Adesanya offered both fighters a word of advice.
“Jones, take him down and do what you do. That’s it. Do the drop-from-heaven elbows and control and all that. Just take him down and Jones can take him down. Gane, kick his legs. Don’t be scared to play with the range. Don’t be scared to play with the range with Jones. He’s really good at it, but Gane has good footwork to avoid things. Good eyes. Good head movement from Gane. Jones has great striking as well. He’s maybe not as pretty as Gane, but he’s got great striking.”
With Ciryl Gane’s fancy footwork and world-class striking, most expect Jon Jones to utilize his wrestling to gain an advantage. Jones himself has even poked fun at Gane’s ground game, making light of the fact that he was taken down by a severely gassed Francis Ngannou at UFC 270. Of course, Jones has never faced an opponent as big as Gane. That could pose a potential problem for Jones, particularly if the extra weight he’s carrying as a heavyweight affects his cardio.
Fortunately, we only have 24 hours to get our answer. Who do you see leaving Las Vegas with the UFC heavyweight title? Let us know in the comments section below.
