This past Saturday night in the headliner of UFC 285, the heavyweight title was on the line. Former interim champion Ciryl Gane (11-2) was looking to claim undisputed gold but to do so, he needed to beat arguably the greatest fighter of all time in Jon Jones (27-1, 1 NC). Jones was making his highly anticipated heavyweight debut.
The glaring advantage for Jones going into the fight was on the ground. If things were standing, that is where the true intrigue was given Gane’s ability to move, his striking skill, and his size. However, we never got much of a chance to see these two strike.
After a brief feeling out period, Jones dragged Gane to the ground. He had his back and when Gane went to use the fence to get up, Jones hopped into a dominant position from the front. He immediately started working a guillotine and the angle looked odd.
However, Jones was able to lock his hands and generate a tremendous amount of pressure on the neck of Gane. The former interim champion was forced to tap and Jon Jones became the UFC’s heavyweight champion.
Jones would’ve defeated former UFC champ
As soon as the fight was over, former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (17-3) sent a tweet out congratulating Jones while also calling himself the heavyweight king. Of course, Ngannou and the UFC parted ways after failing to come to an agreement on a new deal.
Originally, the UFC wanted Ngannou to face Jones this past Saturday night. This tweet drew a response from Jones at the post-fight press conference where he called Ngannou, “A big ole p***y.” Ngannou left on top while Jones is now on top of the world as champion.
Question is, who is the best heavyweight on the planet? I love Francis Ngannou, but I just don’t see him beating Jon Jones if they were to ever fight. Would Ngannou have been a much tougher challenge than Gane? Of course he would’ve been a much tougher challenge.
However, in thinking of the two fighters, I just think Jon Jones is a much better fighter. Francis Ngannou has the nuclear option in his hands, but Jones is too smart and too well-versed defensively to get hit by Ngannou’s biggest power shots. It wouldn’t have been a first round finish, but over the course of five rounds, I believe that Jon Jones would’ve broken the former heavyweight champion.
To me, Jon Jones solidified himself as the greatest of all time on Saturday night. This opinion is not a dig at Francis Ngannou, it’s just more backing up what I already believe and that is that Jon Jones at his best will defeat anyone inside the octagon. I’ll continue to believe that until I’m proven wrong.