Jon Jones, who has not fought since February 2020, meets former UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane on March 4 in Las Vegas. (Photos via Getty Images)
Breaking news can come from anywhere, but this one comes from perhaps the most unlikely source of all time. A video billboard above the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where UFC 285 will be held on March 4, promoted a fight between former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane. The board showed the UFC ad ahead of an NHL game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Edomoton Oilers on Saturday.
This has not been confirmed by the UFC, but Jones appeared to confirm it in an interview with Michael Wonsover on former UFC champion Henry Cejudo’s website.
Jones said in the video he was in Scottsdale, Arizona to watch his daughter at a volleyball tournament and took the opportunity to train at Cejudo’s Fight Ready MMA gym for four days. When asked if he would like to be coached by Cejudo, Jones apparently confirmed the fight with Gane.
“Absolutely, I would love Henry to coach me for this Ciryl Gane fight,” Jones said. “Hopefully our schedules can match and we can get on the same page.”
UFC officials did not respond and Jones was unavailable.
However, the status of heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who defeated Gane for the undisputed championship at UFC 270 in Anaheim, California last year, is unclear.
Ngannou has been recovering from surgery to repair a knee injury he sustained in the Gane fight, but he has also been in a contract dispute with the UFC.
The banner on T-Mobile refers to the Jones vs. Gane fight as the “Heavyweight Championship” and makes no reference to the split. The UFC doesn’t usually make a mistake like this by skipping a word, so it seems certain that the fight between Jones and Gane, if it comes to pass, will be for the full title.
Jones, considered by many to be the greatest MMA fighter of all time, has not fought since defeating Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 on February 8, 2000 in Houston. Jones, who won his first light heavyweight title in 2011, has previously spoken of his desire to win a heavyweight title back in 2013.
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