UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane
Ready for Jones vs Gane? Free UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane and betting odds & predictions? Here is a full breakdown of the leadup, what to expect during the fight, and some logical outcomes.
Event: UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane
Date: March 4th, 2023
Time: Main Card: 10:00 P.M. EST.
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Free UFC 285 Pick: Jon Jones -167 vs Ciryl Gane +140 (Bet Now!)
The greatest mixed martial artist in many people’s eyes is returning on Saturday, but now 50-60 pounds heavier, as he challenges for the vacant heavyweight world championship. His opponent, Ciryl Gane, is no joke though, as he’s decimated everybody in the division, except the recent champion, Francis Ngannou.
Now that Francis vacated the title, and Jones jumped up divisions, the presumably two best in the division are now going to scrap it out for the belt.
Jon Jones
When speaking of Jon, he hasn’t fought since 2020, when he won a controversial unanimous decision against Dominick Reyes. With that being said, when he left, he promised he’d be back at heavyweight, and he appears to have taken his time correctly bulking up to the weight class.
Moreover, Jones pro record is an astonishing one at 26-1-1, with his sole loss coming by a highly arguable disqualification. Therefore, many believe Jon’s never truly lost, which makes this an even more historical fight, with huge consequence, but high reward.
Ciryl Gane
On the flip side, Gane boasts a 11-1 record, with his sole loss coming by Francis, while he was trying to unify his belt. To further elaborate, after going 6-0 in the big show, Ciryl challenged Derrick Lewis for the interim title, which Gane won via TKO.
Impressively, Ciryl owns 5 knockouts, and surprising to some, 3 submissions as well. Although he did struggle mightily against Ngannou on the mat, and Jones is a much different monster on the ground.
MMA Prediction: Jones
While Ciryl is extremely fast, and highly dominant on his feet, he’s been exposed on the ground by less capable fighters than Jon Jones. Furthermore, Jones is crafty and fast himself, and will now presumably have a lot more power to boot.
To conclude, we believe Jones has more ways to win, and should counteract Ciryl’s speed and kickboxing, on route to a unanimous decision.
Free UFC 285 Pick: Valentina Shevchenko -649 vs Alexa Grasso +450 (Bet Now!)
Long time champion, Valentina Shevchenko, enters this fight as a massive favorite against contender, Alexa Grasso. Surprisingly, the champion is coming off a controversial split decision win, while the challenger is riding a winning streak dating back to 2019.
Challenger
Important to note, Alexa Grasso has lost 3 times in the UFC, but has now strung together a four fight win streak, knocking off the like’s of Maycee Barber, and Joanne Wood in the process. To her credit, the last loss in her career was a long 4 years ago, by multi time world champion Carla Esparza.
Champion
Regarding the champ, prior to her the mentioned split decision win, she rattled off 8 dominant wins in a row, with her last loss coming by Amanda Nunes by split decision 6 years ago. Besides her last fight, Valentina looked like a world beater, but Talia may have written the script of how to beat Schevchenko, but it’s now up to Grasso to capitalize.
MMA Prediction: Shevchenko
All in all, Valentina is a must pick until she actually loses, as she’s beaten basically everyone at flyweight, and bantamweight as well. Additionally, many believe she beat Amanda Nunes in their rematch, which would’ve prevented Nunes amazing double champ run.
While Grasso could be a potential upset in some people’s minds, I wouldn’t advise it this time, as Valentina has a lot to prove to herself due to her last fight, and should resonate into fast finish on Saturday night.
Due to the extreme juice on the moneyline, choose the under 2.5 rounds, which is currently sitting at +105.
Rest of the Fights: Odds & Picks
Geoffrey Neal +350 vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov -500
Pick: Rakhmonov
Bo Nickal -1786 vs. Jamie Pickett +800
Pick: Nickal
Cody Garbrandt -175 vs. Trevin Jones +140
Pick: Garbrandt
Derek Brunson +175 vs. Dricus Du Plessis -225
Pick: Du Plessis
Julian Marquez +120 vs. Marc Andre Barriault -150
Pick: Barriault
Check out our Updated UFC 285 Odds right here!
