The date for one of the year’s most anticipated PPV events is drawing near. This Saturday night in Las Vegas, UFC 285 will go down, and the anticipated comeback of Jon Jones will be the main event. In the main event, Jones will make his debut as a heavyweight contender against Ciryl Gane.
The fight was announced alongside the disheartening news that former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou had been released from the company and consequently stripped of his title. Jones’ superior striking, wrestling, distance control, and fight IQ allowed him to rule the 205-pound weight class. Gane is a powerful attacker who is agile, quick, and has great reach. Since making his UFC debut in 2019, Gane has gone 8-1, with a close decision defeat to Ngannou being the lone blemish on his record.
The queen of the women’s flyweight division, Valentina Shevchenko, will defend her title against Alexa Grasso in the co-main event. Shevchenko has won nine consecutive matches in the league since its inception in 2018. Meanwhile, Grasso comes in with a perfect record of four wins in a row.
In terms of ability, this card is among the strongest in recent memory. The main event features Matuesz Gamrot and Jalin Turner, two up-and-coming lightweight competitors. Additionally, welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov returns for a rematch with experienced Geoff Neal. And the welterweight debut of the long-awaited Bo Nickal, who will be facing Jamie Pickett.
Viewers around the world can watch the action live on the following channels and here for free:
Date and Time of UFC 285
- Date: 4 March, Saturday.
- Main Card: 10 p.m. (ET) | 3 a.m. (GMT)
- Main event Ring walks (approx): 1 a.m. (ET) | 6 a.m. (GMT)
The Ring walks for the main event are planned for 1 a.m. ET (6 a.m. GMT), with the main card beginning at 10 p.m. ET (3 a.m. GMT). Undercard bouts’ lengths may force adjustments to these schedules.
Where is UFC 285 held?
The UFC 285 Battle will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
UFC 285 Preview
On March 4, one of the best mixed martial artists of all time will return to the octagon. At UFC 285, held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Jon Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, faces Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight championship.
Jones debuted professionally in 2008 and signed with the UFC that same year. Since being disqualified from his battle with Matt Hamill in 2009, Jones has gone 17 fights without suffering another defeat. In 2011, he became the youngest UFC champion by defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (light heavyweight). He has also won fights against and defeated notable competitors like Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, and Alexander Gustafsson.
This will be Jones’ first bout since 2020 when he won a contentious majority decision over Dominick Reyes.
In 2018, Gane competed in mixed martial arts for the first time, and he came out on top, taking home the TKO heavyweight championship. In the year 2019, Gane debuted in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. After a fight in 2021, he took on Derrick Lewis and won, earning the interim UFC heavyweight championship. In January 2022, when Gane and Francis Ngannou met for the undisputed championship, Ngannou won by a unanimous decision. The September bout against Tai Tuivasa was his most recent, and he won by TKO.
Where did Jon Jones go?
Jones and heavyweight Francis Ngannou were talking about setting up a super fight after Jones’s fight with Reyes in February 2020. Jones told UFC president Dana White that he was dissatisfied with the progress of talks, particularly with regard to the amount of money they would be making between them. Eventually, Jones gave up the UFC light heavyweight title so that he could concentrate on the heavyweight class.
Since then, Jones has been preparing for his debut as a heavyweight.
In the meantime, in 2021, Ngannou defeated Stipe Miocic to claim the UFC heavyweight championship. He successfully defended his title against Gane at UFC 260 in January 2022. Even though Ngannou wanted to face Jones, he and White were unable to reach an agreement on a new UFC contract before the fighter went under the knife. Requests for financial assistance and other forms of assistance were turned down. Ngannou subsequently became a free agent after being stripped of the heavyweight championship.
Not long after, Jones was announced as the next challenger for the championship, with Gane set to face him.
Jones has had multiple run-ins with the law between the year 2020 and UFC 285; He was detained in New Mexico in 2020 for drunkenly brandishing a firearm. He had a blood alcohol content that was twice the permissible limit. Jones was arrested and charged with misdemeanours including battery, domestic violence, and damage to or tampering with a car in September 2021. Jones was arrested after his fiancee, Jessie Moses, reported that he had assaulted her. After entering a no-contest plea to misdemeanour destruction of property allegation, he was eventually let go.
UFC 285 Fight Card
Main Event:
- For the unoccupied UFC heavyweight title, Jon Jones takes on Ciryl Gane.
- Defending champion Valentina Shevchenko faces challenger Alexa Grasso in a bout for the UFC women’s flyweight title.
- Welterweight matchup: Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
- Lightweights Mateusz Gamrot and Jalin Turner
- Middleweight bout: Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett
Prelims
- Title fight: Bantamweights Cody Garbrandt vs. Trevin Jones
- Middleweight bout: Derek Brunson vs. Dricus du Plessis
- Women’s flyweight; Viviane Araujo vs. Amanda Ribas
- Middleweight bout: Julian Marquez vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
Early Prelims
- Welterweight match: Ian Garry vs. Song Kenan
- Bantamweights: Cameron Saaiman vs. Leomana Martinez
- Women’s strawweight: Jessica Penne vs. Tabatha Ricci
- Battle of the Bantamweights: Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Farid Basharat
