‘Bones’ finally returns, faces Gane in heavyweight title bout at UFC 285

MMA legend Jon ‘Bones’ Jones will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon when he faces Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 285, set for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 5 March 2023.

Jones (26-1, 1 NC) is regarded as one of the all-time greats of the sport and is a two-time former light heavyweight champion in the UFC, but he has not seen competitive action since defending his belt with a unanimous decision win over Dominick Reyes in February 2020 (he vacated the title later that year).

The 35-year-old will be moving up to heavyweight and fighting for the title vacated by Cameroonian Francis Ngannou, who has ended his time with the UFC and appears to be targeting a money-spinning stint in boxing.

Gane (11-1) is a former interim heavyweight champion in the UFC, with his only defeat coming at the hands of Ngannou in January 2022. Since then, he re-established himself as one of the division’s top fighters with a knockout win over the dangerous Tai Tuivasa in France in September.

“Before Francis, I was just a young guy, fighting just to be happy,” Gane said. “I am still like that, which I think is really important. A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter, so to stay like that with this mindset is really important. I am more mature, and now I know I want to go to the belt.

“After Francis, after I lost, it was very important to get a win and we did, so that’s why I am really happy. It was a plus to be in front of my crowd, my fans, my family, my friends. It made it really special.”

The co-main event sees women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (23-3) look for an eighth successful defence of her title when she takes on Alexa Grasso (15-3). The Mexican challenger has earned her shot at the gold by claiming four straight wins, most recently outpointing Viviane Araujo in October 2022.

Shevchenko, meanwhile, believes the UFC has struggled to find opponents who can test her: “I want to fight frequently, but I realise this is a problem for the UFC to find opponents in order for me to fight frequently. My understanding is that everyone would love to fight for a title, so what’s happening with you girls? Why so quiet?”

The rest of the main card features a welterweight match between Geoff Neal and Shavkat Rakhmonov; Mateusz Gamrot v Jalin Turner in the lightweight division; and a middleweight opener between Bo Nickal and Jamie Pickett.

In addition, the prelims will see South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis chase a fifth straight win in the UFC when he faces No 5 ranked middleweight Derek Brunson, while the early prelims feature another ‘Saffa’ in the shape of Cameron Saaiman, who will take on Mana Martinez in a bantamweight clash.

“I think it speaks a million words what the company thinks of me, my fight style, and I’m honoured. It’s what I set out to do. Be an entertaining fighter while winning at the same time,” Du Plessis said. “The opportunity is anybody’s for the taking and it’s great the UFC is seeing that I take the opportunity and they are giving me the reward that I feel that I deserve.”

UFC 285 – MAIN CARD

Main event: Vacant heavyweight championship: Jon Jones v Ciryl Gane

Co-main: Women’s flyweight championship: Valentina Shevchenko v Alexa Grasso

Welterweight: Geoff Neal v Shavkat Rakhmonov

Lightweight: Mateusz Gamrot v Jalin Turner

Middleweight: Bo Nickal v Jamie Pickett