Although Jon Jones admits to being anxious, facing Ciryl Gane in his heavyweight debut will give him the sensation he has been seeking. At UFC 285, Jones intends to use that dread as a weapon to win the heavyweight title of the UFC.
On March 4, Jones vs. Gane will be the main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the vacant UFC heavyweight championship — which Francis Ngannou, a free agent, formerly held — on the line. Jones makes his heavyweight debut in the main event and competes for the first time in 37 months. It makes sense that Jones is focused only on his training camp. In the tail end of his reign as light heavyweight champion, he struggled to maintain the same level of commitment.
In “Unlocking the Cage” with Jimmy Smith, Jones commented, “I stopped studying film as much, it started to seem more like another day at the job.” “The anxiety vanished. These people didn’t truly scare me.”
As the UFC light heavyweight champion, Jones claimed he became complacent. During a remarkable run through the 205-pound division that featured victories over Daniel Cormier, Glover Teixeira, Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson, and Shogun Rua, Jones solidified his status as possibly the greatest fighter of all time. His dedication to the sport suffered as a result of having to defend his UFC title against less well-known opponents for less compensation.
“I was also dissatisfied with my income. I’m forced to compete against men like [Dominick] Reyes, who had probably been dreaming of fighting me since college and was just largely unheard of “Jones uttered. “I just needed more; I needed to experience anxiety once more. I desired to feel frightened once more. Since we are in this situation, I believe that fear is healthy. Never has the heavyweight division been more terrifying, and I’m glad to be in the thick of it.”
