Jon Jones Likely Has Nothing For Ciryl Gane

[Bubbu]

Jones is an inferior striker to Gane, lacks traditional knockout power, and doesn't have the conditioning to grapple as he did when he was a younger man. Jon arguably lost his last two fights at LHW and definitely would have lost his last fight if not for incompetent judging.

Gane in his last fight became the first fighter to KO Tai Tuivasa who had only been TKOd previously. Gane appears to be sitting down more on his punches since the loss to Ngannou. It is questionable whether Jones can handle that type of knockout power.

What exactly does a path to victory for Jones because it is difficult to see a clear one?

I agree that Jon isn't a top tier striker, but he throws unconventional strikes from weird angles, and then power takedowns... most of these heavies are not going to be able to get back up. Jon isn't an idiot and he's gonna wrastle-fuck the division most likely, but most people at that weight can get caught and put out, so it's definitely a step up in the 'danger zone'. Jon actually looked slow at LHW, but he's gonna look slick and fast at heavy... I'm optimistic.

 

[Poirierfan]

I think Jones' only chance is if he wrestles. Gane is bigger, stronger and faster. He's also a natural heavyweight. The only hole is his game is he fights a little safe and doesn't seem to have much on the ground.

The fact that Jones skated by an old, slow and injured Thiago Santos and arguably lost the Reyes fight, I don't see how he beats Gane. Especially after a 3 year layoff and a new weight class.

Jones also couldn't do nothing with a one arm Ovince Saint Preux.

 

[Banana Tree's Nemesis]

Jones is an inferior striker to Gane, lacks traditional knockout power, and doesn't have the conditioning to grapple as he did when he was a younger man. Jon arguably lost his last two fights at LHW and definitely would have lost his last fight if not for incompetent judging.

Gane in his last fight became the first fighter to KO Tai Tuivasa who had only been TKOd previously. Gane appears to be sitting down more on his punches since the loss to Ngannou. It is questionable whether Jones can handle that type of knockout power.

What exactly does a path to victory for Jones because it is difficult to see a clear one?

Have you even watched that fight against Tai?
The man has one hell of a chin, but he took a ton of bodyshots and then lowered his guard and took many many punches to the head before getting rattled and tkoed with like 5 more punches.
With that amount of punches landed, Nate Diaz could've tkoed Tai.

 

[neomage2021]

Gane got dominated by D1 Ngannou...yeah

 

[MRT]

If someone wants to argue that Gane beats Jones, even decisively, that's fine...but it seems silly to believe that Jones 'likely has nothing' for him.

I would not put too much stock into Jones' last couple of performances at LHW or the 'ring rust' beliefs. A chance at the HW belt suggests that we can expect a very motivated and focused Jon Jones who is not going to underestimate his opponent. He is also not old for HW, has taken the time to put on size properly and adapt to it, and hasn't been taking damage in the cage for a while. I think we are much more likely to see a rejuvenated Jones than one hampered by the time off and the weight class change.

This is a true 'legacy' moment for Jones and I think he will rise to the occasion (although I certainly would not cry if Gane takes him out).

 

[witt1021]

i fucking hate jones. not as a fighter but as a human. recklessly taking supplements failing drugs tests, cocaine failures, hitting pregnant women, hiding from USADA to dodge drug testing. but to think gane is going to easily walk thru him is laughable. jones will easily take down gane, control gane on the ground, and throw elbows on ganes face. ganes wrestling is complete trash. jones is a high school state champion. went on to be a junior collegiate national champion for one of the best NJCAA teams in the country. if jones follows the correct gameplan he easily takes him down and controls every aspect of the fight. the only thing that needs to be questioned is ring rust and jones age. does he have the same cardio? how will he respond to getting hit in the face after not fighting for 3 years? we shall see.

 

[Tweak896]

D1 Ngannou can shred Gane, but Jones won't lmao. Okay this is his best matchup.

 

[Uncommon Valor]

Post that betting slip, when it’s time.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

So the guy who has never really lost is a sure thing to lose. Got it.

He's 100% lost

 

[jk7707]

I have no idea why anybody thinks that because Jones "struggled" with MWs/LHWs because he's lost a step he also will against HWs.

HWs aren't faster than MWs/LHWs. They're slower. And generally far less technical as they can just rely on power.

If Jones has lost a step then moving to HW is far more likely to correct this than make it worse. There's a reason why HWs can still be so successful later in life compared to other weight classes and it's certainly not because they need to rely on physical attributes.

As a generic trend at HW you're right. But Gane is one of, if not the fastest HW out there and has great striking technique. I'd wager Jones has lost a few steps, since we last saw him because of father time, and because he will be fighting with a lot more weight and muscle in his frame for the very first time.

 

[kwijyboy]

Jones takes Gane down within 30 secs and Jones gnp two in round 1

 

[NoSmilez]

I really feel Jones fights to the level of his opponents. He might have aged overnight but if he shows up in top form then it’s an easy fight for him.

 

[ufcfan4]

I think Jones' only chance is if he wrestles. Gane is bigger, stronger and faster. He's also a natural heavyweight. The only hole is his game is he fights a little safe and doesn't seem to have much on the ground.

The fact that Jones skated by an old, slow and injured Thiago Santos and arguably lost the Reyes fight, I don't see how he beats Gane. Especially after a 3 year layoff and a new weight class.

My thoughts exactly.

Jones is one of the best mma fighters ever with an insane record but the likelihood is you don’t just come back after three years without a fight after already looking like you might have lost a step in your last couple of fights and just step right back into your prime form.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the fights against Reyes and Santos revealed more about how motivated those guys were for the biggest fight of their careers than about Jones. But, for me, Jones has always been a smart fighter and I don’t think he would just abandon arguably his best asset (takedowns and top game) when potentially losing close rounds in those fights. There are all sorts of things that could be said- maybe he was just having an off night, maybe he was comfortable standing and he thought he was well ahead on the cards and didn’t feel the need to adjust.

But him not effectively wrestling Reyes and and Santos makes me wonder if he still has the physical tools to impose that game as well as he did years ago in his career. There was a point when Jones took virtually every opponent down and, more often than not, that was the beginning of the end if not the end of the fight itself.

So while yes he *might* take Gane down, I don’t see it as being a given. And standing, I think Gane just has a clear advantage. As good of a striker as Jones is, I don’t like his chances against someone as seasoned, proficient, and fast as Gane.

 

[Viking Power]

I wish Jon hadn’t taken 3 years off. Nobody knows what he’s gonna look like performance wise in this fight.

 

[Tukker]

I think the smart money has to be on Jones until we see some more solid evidence otherwise.

Gane is a lot of good things but I'm still not overly impressed. He had no business losing to Ngannou and yet he found a way. He could yet be great, but I'm a long way from convinced he's there yet.

I think Jones outstrikes him via volume and variety. If Jones wants to, he puts him on his back and beats him up there.

Jones -200 IMO.

 

[Lee_]

Matchups make fights PERIOD. A lot of posts here ignore that fact.

A TD by Jones would be much more dangerous than one by Francis because Jones knows what to do on the ground. Gane obviously wins the striking battle, but the question is whether Jones can effectively utilize the ground game.

I see Jones getting KOd later in the fight if he can't finish Gane on the ground before the end of round 3. I don't see Jones being able to continually getting TD when he gets tired; Gane may open up on him later in the fight.

 

[Joshuaace]

He's 100% lost

By DQ. The others were just close decisions that some people disagree with.

 

[ChimRichalds]

D1 Ngannou can shred Gane, but Jones won't lmao. Okay this is his best matchup.

It's possible, but I think Gane will have the clear strength advantage over Jones. Obviously there's a big gap in skill between Jones and Francis when it comes to wrestling, but I don't know that Jones is strong enough to muscle Gane around the way Frank did. Plus Gane should be noticeably more mobile than Jones.

God damn I'm excited for this fight. They better make it to the cage without any fuckery.

 

[Tweak896]

It's possible, but I think Gane will have the clear strength advantage over Jones. Obviously there's a big gap in skill between Jones and Francis when it comes to wrestling, but I don't know that Jones is strong enough to muscle Gane around the way Frank did. Plus Gane should be noticeably more mobile than Jones.



God damn I'm excited for this fight. They better make it to the cage without any fuckery.

True. Size can tilt the odds. Jones will be the most skilled HW. But that doesn't mean he can just wrestle like Ngannou could with his size. Going to be a close fight.

 

[DapperDave]

Also realistically he didn’t train TDD whatsoever during the Ngannou camp and was completely caught off guard...

Wait, so you are saying that Gane is stupid and has zero fight IQ? Gane still thinks he is fighting MT?