LAS VEGAS – Jon Jones isn’t offended he opened up as a betting underdog against Ciryl Gane.
Jones opened up as a +140 underdog when his vacant heavyweight title fight against Gane first was announced, but as of early Friday was a -170 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook. The comeback on underdog Gane, a former interim heavyweight champion, is +145.
Considering that Jones’ single MMA loss came by disqualification, the former light heavyweight king was asked if he was disrespected by the opening odds. But Jones said several factors likely led to that.
“No, I don’t think it was disrespectful,” Jones told reporters at the UFC 285 pre-fight press conference. “Ciryl Gane’s been really active. He’s been really busy in the UFC. I understand that there’s a lot of fans that have never seen me compete before, and it is what it is. I would imagine a lot of people were putting in some pretty big money when I was the underdog and the oddsmakers had to change that up real quick.
“I’m not a big guy into gambling, but I would say betting on me isn’t the worst idea.”
Jones will return from a layoff of more than three years when he faces Gane in Saturday’s UFC 285 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Jones as a -170 favorite over Gane means a $170 bet would be needed on “Bones” to return $100 profit. A $100 bet on France’s Gane would result in $145 profit with a win.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.
