Jon Jones reveals two ‘big holes’ in Ciryl Gane’s fight plan ahead of UFC 285 showdown
JON JONES has revealed two “big holes” in rival Ciryl Gane’s fight plan ahead of their showdown.
The duo will throw down for the vacant heavyweight title on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 285 in Las Vegas.
Jones, 35, is moving in weight to challenge the former interim champion following a three-year absence from the octagon.
He and Gane went face-to-face for the first time ahead of their mouthwatering clash at the KA Theater at the MGM Grand Garden Arena last night.
They traded verbal jabs much to the delight of the rabid fans in attendance and then got up close and personal a few moments after the presser.
A fired up Jones strode confidently towards the 32-year-old Frenchman before UFC president Dana White stepped in and placed the vacant title between them.
But Jones pushed away the strap in order to get close to Gane and stare him dead in the face again.
And the confident American revealed afterwards: “I respect Ciryl Gane, I really do, but I study film constantly and I just see a lot of patterns.
“When he’s in one stance, there’s things he really loves to do. He goes to the same well a lot.
“When he’s in the opposite stance, he has his tendencies. Outside of that, I realised that he doesn’t have much wrestling.
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“He relies on evasion, trying to get away. He relies on jiu-jitsu instead of solid takedown defence, and same with the ground game.
“I watched Francis Ngannou be able to rack up maybe five, six minutes of top time in that fight, and Francis is not a guy that’s known to control people on the top.”
Bones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) added: “He does have the striking down. I don’t think defensively he’s a very strong kickboxer.
“He has a really nice offense. Like I said, his defence is mainly in his footwork, and two other big holes are jiu-jitsu and wrestling.”
But Gane, sat close by alongside White, remained unfazed and said: “Everybody knows the level of wrestling of Jon Jones, but I’m focused about that.
“I’m focused on it, so we worked on it. We’re going to be ready for him.”