UFC 285 “Jon Jones Vs Ciryl Gane” + Weekly MMA Report
The MMA news brought a lovely weekend of action, as both Bellator and the UFC aired lovely events. We’ve seen some spectacular stoppages and performances.
Looking Back At Bellator 291/UFC Vegas 70
In the main event of Bellator MMA, Yaroslav Amosov dominated Logan Storley in a rematch for five rounds for a convincing decision nod (50-45 x 3). It was one of the best fights of the undefeated Ukrainian, who extended his score to 27-0.
The UFC Vegas 70 suffered three massive blows. In the first place, it lost two preliminary bouts – Jose Johnson vs Garret Armfield, and Hailey Cowan vs Ailin Perez. Later, only two hours before the fight, Nikita Krylov was forced to pull out of the main event due to a “food-related illness”, so his fight against Ryan Spann didn’t proceed. The three-round middleweight fight between Andre Muniz and Brendan Allen was bumped to the main event instead of Krylov vs Spann.
UFC Vegas 70 Awards
Despite the event falling to 10 bouts, we’ve seen some high-level matchups. The Fight of the Night was not awarded, instead, we’ve witnessed six Performance of the Night and extra 50k bonuses.
Making the most of HIS main event!!!@BrendanAllenMMA sinks in the RNC in the closing seconds! #UFCVegas70 pic.twitter.com/VVRdDyibOM
— UFC (@ufc) February 26, 2023
SHE MAKES GOOD ON THE RETURN!!!!
Submission finish for @TatianaUFC 😤 #UFCVegas70 pic.twitter.com/VWRMKcyZvs
— UFC (@ufc) February 26, 2023
Textbook finish for PROPER @Michael_Malott 🇨🇦 #UFCVegas70 pic.twitter.com/cGT0sasTfV
— UFC (@ufc) February 26, 2023
TREVOR PEEK DID THAT IN HIS DEBUT 😳 #UFCVegas70pic.twitter.com/sGOQox82f4
— UFC (@ufc) February 25, 2023
Tatiana Suarez banked extra 50,000 dollars with a submission over Montana de la Rosa. Brendan Allen, who pulled out the greatest upset of the card, was also granted for his surprising choke win over submission God Andre Muniz.
It pays to get the finish 💸 #UFCVegas70 pic.twitter.com/RkEASl16j0
— UFC (@ufc) February 26, 2023
— UFC (@ufc) February 26, 2023
Jordan Leavitt finished Victor Martinez with a knee and flurry of punches to impress Dana White, while Mike Mallot choked out his former training partner Yohan Lainesse for the FOTN bonus.
Joe Solecki put his hand under the neck of Carl Deaton III for a lovely rear-naked choke victory, while Trevor Peek scored a blistering knockout over Erick Gonzalez in the preliminary card.
UFC 285
This weekend, the UFC returns with another high-level pay-per-view card in T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, headlined by the combat between the former interim heavyweight title owner Ciryl Gane and legendary former 205-pound king who makes his transition to the 265-pound division, Jon “The Bones” Jones.
Image source: @UFCBrasil Twitter
Jon Jones is known for great angling, cardio, wrestling… you name it! This is an all-around fighter, the modern creation of Mike Winkeljohn, with only one loss in his career due to illegal elbows. Jon Jones is also the only one who was stripped of the title three times due to his out-of-Octagon actions. He’s equally good on the feet and the canvas.
Ciryl Gane is a Muay Thai fighter with solid submission skills and transitions. As long as the French expert of technical wars keeps the fight standing, he should be fine. Jon Jones has a great wrestling background, but he cruises 60 pounds north for the first time, so this should be a victory for Gane.
Prediction: Gane to win
The co-main event of the evening brings the 125-pound title fight between the kicking specialist with great Judo throws, Valentina Shevchenko, and the extremely durable and tough Mexican, Alexa Grasso. Valentina’s shots are crisper and stronger, but she struggled with Taila Santos in her last outing. Grasso is one of the toughest flyweight Octagon warriors, so this bout could go into the championship rounds.
Prediction: fight starts round 4
UFC 285 Full Fight Card
You can take a look at the UFC 285 full fight card here, but please check this link for potential last-minute changes.
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10 PM ET, 3 AM UK time)
UFC Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones (26-1-0) vs. Ciryl Gane (11-1-0)
UFC Flyweight Championship: Valentina Shevchenko (23-3-0) vs. Alexa Grasso (15-3-0)
Welterweight: Geoff Neal (15-4-0) vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov (16-0-0)
Lightweight: Mateusz Gamrot (21-2-0) vs. Jalin Turner (13-5-0)
Middleweight: Jamie Pickett (13-8-0) vs. Bo Nickal (3-0-0)
Preliminary Card (UFC on Fight Pass, ESPN+/ESPN, 8 PM ET, 1 AM UK time)
Bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt (12-5-0) vs. Trevin Jones (13-9-0)
Middleweight: Derek Brunson (23-8-0) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (18-2-0)
Flyweight: Viviane Araujo (11-4-0) vs. Amanda Ribas (10-3-0)
Middleweight: Julian Marquez (9-3-0) vs. Marc-André Barriault (14-6-0)
Early Prelims (UFC On Fight Pass, ESPN+, 5:30 PM ET, 10:30 PM UK time)
Welterweight: Ian Machado Garry (10-0-0) vs. Kenan Song (19-6-0)
Bantamweight: Mana Martinez (10-3-0) vs. Cameron Saaiman (7-0-0)
Strawweight: Jessica Penne (14-6-0) vs. Tabatha Ricci (7-1-0)
Bantamweight: Farid Basharat (9-0-0) vs. Da’Mon Blackshear (12-4-1)
Lightweight: Loik Radzhabov (16-4-1) vs. Esteban Ribovics (11-0-0)
UFC 285 PPV – My Picks
Here are my predictions for the upcoming UFC 285 event.
This lovely fight card is stacked from top to bottom, and it is 100% worth your time! Please sit next to your watching device on Saturday at 5:30 PM ET and enjoy this lovely holiday of combats!
[…] The UFC 285 PPV brought some crazy fights, and we’ve got two new division champions. Alexa Grasso pulled a massive upset by submitting Valentina Shevchenko in the fourth, while Jon Jones surprisingly choked out Ciryl Gane via guillotine choke from a cage seated position in the first. […]