Jon Jones returns to UFC with a bang, handles Ciryl Gane with ease, and stakes a claim as the No.1 fighter of all time
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- Jon Jones beat Ciryl Gane in the first round Saturday at UFC 285 in Las Vegas.
- It was his first fight in three years, and he claimed the heavyweight title without breaking a sweat.
- UFC boss Dana White waxed lyrical over Jones to Insider and other reporters backstage.
LAS VEGAS — Jon Jones kept the partisan T-Mobile Arena crowd waiting as his entrance music hit Saturday.
The 35-year-old savored the atmosphere backstage as he was moments away from returning to the Octagon for the first time in three years.
He told Insider and other reporters earlier in the week that he likes to keep his personal life private, yet his life has been wrought with out-of-the-cage issues that include a domestic violence arrest just one day after a UFC Hall of Fame induction two years ago.
Jones refused to even discuss it with the media this week when pressed about it.
One thing he was happy to talk about was the time he's spent fine-tuning his physique so that when he made his heavyweight debut, he'd be as dominant as he was when he was slaying the biggest names at light heavyweight during a nine-year reign as champion.
Such was his pedigree and accomplishments at 205 pounds, Jones quickly became one of the common names in the greatest fighters of all time conversation.
At UFC 285, in the final fight of a 14-bout card in Las Vegas, Jones weighed 43 pounds heavier than he did in his prior division and was tasked with competing against one of MMA's most athletic heavyweights.
His opponent Ciryl Gane was already in the Octagon when Jones finally made his walk to "The champ is here."
It was time.
Jones beat Gane without breaking a sweat
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Master of Ceremonies Bruce Buffer amped the energy levels when he screamed the introductions.
And then, after all that build-up, the light show and the walkouts, and the final staredown, expectations of a five-round fight dwindled shortly after the opening bell as — even though both fighters weighed a similar amount — it became clear Jones had a considerable strength advantage when the fight went to the ground. His wrestling was on another level.
And then it became a matter of time.
After little more than two minutes, Jones made Gane tap to a guillotine choke. It was all over — a new heavyweight champion would be crowned.
Jones is 'unfucking believable,' according to UFC boss Dana White
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Watch the finish right here:
—SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 5, 2023
Shortly after getting the submission win, Jones jumped for joy and then rushed to lift his father — Arthur Jones, a pastor who never wanted his son to begin a career in combat sports — off the ground and then saluted the 20,000 screaming fans.
"Not only is he the greatest light heavyweight ever, but he's also looking like the greatest heavyweight ever, too," said Dana White, praising Jones as the MMA GOAT, to Insider and other reporters at a post-event press conference.
"The guy's unfucking believable, man," White said. "There's no doubt Jon Jones is special."