Mixed martial arts fans have been waiting three years for this moment. Even they couldn’t have scripted it better—Jon Jones, the GOAT of UFC, is returning from retirement and moving up a weight class to compete for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship. Standing in his way is the up and coming Frenchman, Ciryl Gane.
We breakdown all the best bets to make on this once in a lifetime UFC title fight with odds from bookmaker William Hill.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: March 2nd, 11:30 P.M. (GMT)
Courtesy of Francis Ngannou exiting the UFC, the competition is in the market for another heavyweight champion. Enter Jon Jones, who has won 14 previous title fights at the light heavyweight division. With Jones last fighting in 2020 and retiring as what many saw as the best of all time his return is immensely anticipated. And it isn’t against a nobody—Ciryl Gane narrowly missed out on being crowned heavyweight champion last year, losing by decision to Francis Ngannou.
However, Jones is the slight bookmaker favourite to win this fixture. At 1.57, Jones leads Gane in the outright winner odds by almost a point with Gane sitting at 2.37 for the win. Read on for our best bets on UFC 285.
Bottom line, we either see this fight ending in a Jon Jones decision or a Ciryl Gane knockout. Jones has a 26-1-0 record and is on a 17-fight winning streak. He’s been the perennial UFC Light Heavyweight champion and has only returned because he believes he can beat Gane and collect another title. However, in his last few fights, he looked lack lustre—add this to the fact that he’s been inactive for three years and this match isn’t cut and dry for Jones.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: March 2nd, 11:30 P.M. (GMT)
Gane, on the other hand, is a heavyweight through and through. He’ll have a size advantage over Jones and will be looking to leverage his superior power to defeat his smaller opposition. However, in his only career loss, he was dominated on the mat by Francis Ngannou. Jones is a better wrestler than Ngannou and Gane could be in trouble if he doesn’t keep this bout off the ground.
We say the best wager to take here is a Jones decision. It’s simply too hard to bet against the GOAT of MMA and with Jones winning most of his fights, ten in the UFC, by decision, it’s tough to see any other outcome here.
