Jon Jones‘ much awaited return to the octagon was finally announced by the UFC this weekend. The former UFC light heavyweight champ is slated to make his heavyweight debut in a title fight against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March.
While Gane has opened up as the betting favorite, former UFC referee John McCarthy has predicted Jones will systematically beat down ‘Bon Gamin’. McCarthy acknowledged that Gane is probably the best answer to Jones in terms of size and reach.
However, the Bellator announcer believes that Gane, having been outwrestled by Francis Ngannou, will likely be dominated by Jones, who is considered to be one of the best wrestlers in UFC history. McCarthy also noted that ‘Bones’ is currently training with Henry Cejudo, who is an Olympic gold medallist in wrestling. The 60-year-old said on the Weighing In podcast:
“The big problem is, Ciryl Gane was outwrestled by Francis Ngannou. And Jon Jones is not a dumb man, Jones is a smart fighter. Jones is training with another guy that I consider an very smart fighter and a good coach in Henry Cejudo, and a guy that knows a ‘little bit’ [sarcastically] about wrestling. Look, Jones is gonna take Ciryl Gane off of his feet and systematically beat him down.”
Catch John McCarthy’s comments below: