The Champ is back on top! Monster Energy congratulates Jon “Bones” Jones on defeating Ciryl Gane to claim the UFC’s Heavyweight World Championship title at UFC 285 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In Saturday night’s Main Event fight inside T-Mobile Arena, the 35-Year-Old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, dealt his opponent a brutal first-round submission defeat to take the belt. The highly anticipated fight also earned the UFC’s ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus with a $50,000 payout.
UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane was contested inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC 285 prelims were broadcast live on ESPN+, and the main card aired on ESPN pay-per-view.
Monster Energy’s Jones (27-1) is a former two-time champion in the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division. The UFC icon held the title from March 2011 to April 2015 and from December 2018 to August 2020. Returning after a three-year layoff, Jones made his debut at 250 pounds in the Heavyweight division for Saturday night’s title fight. His opponent, Frenchman Ciryl Gane (11-2), came into the fight after knocking out Tai Tuivasa in September 2022.
The tension was palpable inside T-Mobile Arena as both fighters engaged in the middle of the Octagon. When a low kick caught Jones in the cup, the fight was temporarily stopped, but “Bones” quickly recovered.
What unfolded next was Jones in classic form: After Gane missed a left hook, Jones took him down to the ground in a seated position against the cage. Closing in from the rear, Jones locked in a guillotine choke under the chin and applied pressure until Gane tapped out. The referee called a stop to the contest at 2 minutes, 4 seconds, pronouncing Jones the winner and new UFC Heavyweight Champion. This marks the third-fastest submission in a UFC Heavyweight title fight.
“I’ve been working for this for a long time. A lot of people thought I wasn’t coming back. I’ve been faithful to my goal. I’ve been faithful to the mission. There were days I didn’t want to train, and I was always there,” said Jones upon defeating Gane and claiming the title in Las Vegas.
The headline fight between Jones and Gane also received the UFC’s ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus with a $50,000 payout.
Saturday’s UFC Heavyweight World Championship title makes Jones an official two-division champion. Jones is now the eighth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two divisions.
Widely regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, Jones also holds the record for the youngest champion in UFC history at age 23, as well as UFC records in the Light Heavyweight Division for most title defenses (11 times), most wins in title fights (15 victories), and longest win streak (19 wins).
What’s next for Jones? His title victory sets him up for a fight with former UFC Heavyweight Champion and Monster Energy teammate Stipe “Stone Cold” Miocic this summer. “I believe in my next fight, I’ll go into it with a different level of confidence, an even higher level of confidence,” said Jones addressing the bout with Miocic in his post-fight interview, adding: “I’m going to not only beat Stipe Miocic; I’m going to finish Stipe Miocic before the championship rounds.” Stay tuned!
Jon “Bones” Jones counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, Chris “The All American” Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Tony Ferguson, Marlon Vera, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Maycee “The Future” Barber, Paulo “The Eraser” Costa, Stipe “Stone Cold” Miocic, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Sean “Sugar” O’Malley, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Alex Pereira, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga “Ninja” Chikadze, and Islam Makhachev.
For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
