The best UFC betting sites favor Jon Jones over Ciryl Gane. It is going to happen. It is finally going to happen. Jon Jones will be making his UFC heavyweight debut. He is going to fight Ciryl Gane at the UFC 285 pay-per-view event for the abeyant title.
This is going to mark the return of the 35-year-old to the Octagon for the very first time in three (3) years. A super fight pitting “Bones” against former champion Francis Ngannou did not come to pass, but a Gane-Jones consolation taking place on March 4 is still pretty freaking sweet. Jones is currently a -170 favorite at the best online sportsbooks in this championship match versus Gane (+140). The latter is the top heavyweight contender.
UFC 285 Gane vs. Jones Odds by BetOnline
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Gane | -147 |
| Jones | +114 |
Betting Gane
With Ngannou no longer in the picture, Ciryl Gane is the top guy to clash with Jones. “Bon Gamin” has been working his way to the top for a bunch of years now. That success has been reflected in his odds record at the best betting sites
The 32-year-old closed as a heavy -560 fave in his fight with Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris (he won via KO). He was also the -145 favorite in his title match versus Ngannou at UFC 270. UFC 285 is going to be Gane’s first event as the underdog.
Jones is deemed by some to be the greatest MMA mixed martial artist of all time. However, he has not fought in three years though he has enjoyed a steady status as chalk in his past few light heavyweight fights.
Jones was the fave over Dominick Reyes (-500), Thiago Santos (-550) and Anthony Smith (-800). To find odds that are as close as this upcoming Gane bout, you would have to go all the way back to Jones’ first fight with Daniel Cormier (-170) at UFC 182.
Betting Jones
Jones’s incredible physical attributes (a massive 84.5-inch reach as well as long limbs) are going to translate well to 265 pounds. The issue, as is always the case with Jon Jones, is how he is dealing with the proverbial personal demons.
We have all seen the training videos of Bones in the last few years. He looks like a lean, mean fighting machine. But where is his head at, though? His most recent domestic incident in 2021 (complete with a video of Jones smashing his head on the hood of a patrol car) is an indication that he’s still quite troubled.
So, who is going to show up at UFC 285? Jones’s will always be as smart a fighter as he is dumb in everyday life, and once the cage doors close, he is going to do a flawless job of blocking out the voices in his head.
Then again, he is getting on in years. At 35 and without a fight against another human being as opposed to an inanimate object in three years, it seems highly unlikely that he has not lost a step or three. The devastating elbows and unrelenting ground and pound are still going to be there, but on standing up, Gane might be the quicker and more explosive brawler.
UFC 285 Gane vs. Jones Pick
We are taking Jones at -170 to win this bout. The odds are pretty good (and even better if you got him while he was still the dog at the best betting sites). The more meaningful question is whether this fight will finish within the distance (+100). +100 is a very tempting number, but our official prediction is that this bout is going to go OVER 3.5 rounds (-175) and possibly into the fourth or fifth round.
Bones is one of the cagiest, savviest wrestlers in promotional history. Gane, even though he is competent, has not shown as much. The ring rust will be a factor here, but that Jones opened as a -105 dog is crazy. Pound by pound, he is a superior fighter than Gane. He might not be as strong or as fast but he’s more intelligent and experienced. That is going to make all the difference.
Jones is great at using angles to his own advantage and adjusting mid-fight. As far as Ciryl goes, we have some concerns. At UFC 270, he was up on Ngannou through the first couple of rounds until the Cameroonian shifted gears, and decided to wrestle and hold top position. Gane lost that bout by unanimous decision. More recently, he did let his guard slip and got knocked on his ass by Tuivasa.
