Alexander Volkanovski thinks Jon Jones is in for a unique challenge against Ciryl Gane.
Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) returns from a three-year layoff to face Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) for the vacant heavyweight title in the UFC 285 headliner on March 4.
Jones has faced the who’s who in MMA, but UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski thinks Gane’s striking is on another level from Jones’ past opponents.
“Obviously, even though Jon Jones is a light heavyweight, a natural light heavyweight, his wrestling is next level,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I think he outwrestles most of the guys in heavyweight.
“But Gane’s range and movement, I don’t know if Jon Jones has really dealt with that type of high-level striking. And now it’s at heavyweight. It’s a very very interesting fight, so be I’ll definitely tuning into that. I can’t wait for that.”
Jones’ matchup with Gane materialized after heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) failed to come to terms with the UFC on a new deal. Although Ngannou lost out on the biggest fight of his career, Volkanovski lauds him for taking a chance on himself.
“Respect to Francis for sticking to his guns and thinking, ‘You know what, I know my worth, I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna do that, I want to chase big things,’ which he’s obviously a big name and a big draw and a powerful dude,” Volkanovski said. “There’s probably a lot of money in other promotions or other sports.
“So you could even see him doing WWE, going to Japan and doing things like that over there. He’s chasing some big things. I think he could still come to the UFC, I think the UFC can definitely start the negotiations again and make something happen further down the track.”
Volkanovski will be chasing history himself when he moves up a weight class to challenge lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the UFC 284 headliner on Feb. 11 in Perth.
