One of the most anticipated UFC fights of 2023 involves the return of former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who will take on Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285.
At the UFC Fight Night 220 press conference, UFC president Dana White made a bold prediction regarding ‘Bones’ comeback fight. White said that the gate revenue for UFC 285 could prove to be on a similar level to the gate revenue for the prestigious Madison Square Garden in New York:
“It’s big… Last year, we had a sellout at every single event. Now, Perth, the Jon Jones fight in Miami, are all trending to be MSG-type gates. So, it’s a really good start to the beginning of the year.”
Apart from the highly exciting main event, UFC 285 is stacked with entertaining matchups from top to bottom. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko will defend her flyweight title against Alexa Grasso.
Rising welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov will arguably face his toughest test to date in the form of Geoff Neal. Acclaimed grappler Bo Nickal will also make his UFC debut and take on Jamie Pickett in a middleweight bout.
A lightweight banger in the form of Jalin Turner vs. Mateusz Gamrot will also take place at UFC 285. Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt will also return to action and compete against Trevin Jones.
With all these exciting matchups on the card, it should be safe to assume that UFC 285 will do great in terms of gate revenue and pay-per-view sales.
Check out White’s comments below:
Michael Chiesa weighs in on Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane
Michael Chiesa believes Ciryl Gane will prove to be a tough challenge for the former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
‘The Maverick’ recently gave his assessment of the fight and said that Gane shared a lot of similarities with Jones and ‘Bon Gamin’s elusiveness and diversity could pose a threat to ‘Bones’:
“This is the toughest fight for Jon Jones right now at heavyweight because Ciryl Gane can do a lot of the same things. The elusiveness, the way he uses his weapons. Ciryl Gane uses his elbows as good as anybody at any weight class in the UFC. So, I think it’s going to be tough for Jon to face somebody this similar to him ’cause he hasn’t in his entire career. Name one person he’s fought that has the diversity and the weapons that he possesses.”
UFC 285 will mark Jones’ debut in the heavyweight division, for which he has been preparing for the last three years. MMA fans around the world will be curious to see whether, after a long break, Jones can become a multi-division champion.
Watch Chiesa’s assessment in the video below