Arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all-time returns to action tonight as Jon Jones moves up to heavyweight for the first time in his career to challenge Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in Las Vegas.
Jones, 35, hasn’t fought since defending his light-heavyweight title for the last time against Dominick Reyes in February 2020. The UFC legend first hinted at a move up to heavyweight over a decade ago, but he will finally debut in the weight class when he faces Gane for the vacant title. Gane has previously held the interim belt at the weight class but lost out on the chance to win the undisputed belt when he was beaten by Francis Ngannou last January.
Unbeaten prospects such as Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Garry and Farid Basharat will all feature on the card whilst a women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso will serve as the co-main event. Here’s all you need to know about tonight’s blockbuster card…
What time is the Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane fight?
Ring walks for the title clash between Jones and Gane in the main event of UFC 285 are expected to take place at around 5am UK time, with the fight getting underway shortly after that. This fight time is likely to change depending on the length of the main card fights taking place before the headlining act, especially with a five-round title fight between Shevchenko and Grasso in the co-main event.
Who wins at UFC 285 - Jon Jones or Ciryl Gane? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below
How to watch on TV and via live stream
UFC 285 will be shown exclusively live on BT Sport, with the preliminary card beginning at 1am UK time on Sunday morning whilst the main card will get underway at 3am. UK viewers with a subscription to BT Sport will not need to pay an additional pay-per-view fee to watch the event. You can also watch the fights via the BT Sport app, which is available to download on mobile, tablet, select streaming devices, games consoles, and smart TVs.
Full fight card
Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane - for vacant UFC heavyweight title
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso - for Shevchenko’s UFC flyweight title
Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Jalin Turner
Jamie Pickett vs. Bo Nickal
Cody Garbrandt vs. Trevin Jones
Derek Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis
Viviane Araujo vs. Amanda Ribas
Julian Marquez vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
Ian Machado Garry vs. Kenan Song
Mana Martinez vs. Cameron Saaiman
Jessica Penne vs. Tabatha Ricci
Farid Basharat vs. Da’Mon Blackshear
Loik Radzhabov vs. Estaban Ribovics
Odds
Jones 4/7
Gane 11/8
Quotes corner
Jones: "I respect Ciryl Gane, I really do and I say this humbly but I study film constantly and I see a lot of patterns. He has a lot of tendencies, I realised that he doesn't really have much wrestling. He relies on evasion and trying to get away. He relies on jiu-jitsu instead of solid takedown defence. He does have the striking down, I don't think defensively he is a very strong kickboxer. Two other big holes are jiu-jitsu and wrestling."
Gane: "Everybody knows the wrestling game of Jon Jones so I am very focused on that. We've been working on that and we're going to be ready for him. Everybody knows that Jon Jones it the greatest of all-time, so that's why I respect him and his career. I am really happy for this opportunity, I like the feeling that he has a lot of fans behind him. I'm aware about this and we are gonna do a war, no doubt about that."
