Jon Jones will be making his long-awaited debut in the heavyweight division at UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane. For the first time, ‘Bones’ Jones will be moving up from light heavyweight to heavyweight. But, the former UFC world champion will not reveal what his weight will be on fight day.
For about a decade, Jones has been teasing a move to heavyweight. ‘Bones’ vacated his light heavyweight throne in 2020 with plans for moving to the heavyweight division. Since then, he has been posting on Instagram multiple clips and videos of him adding on the pounds and lifting heavy weights.
The US-born athlete wants to keep his weight a secret until he is staring down ‘Bon Gamin’ Ciryl Gane. In an interview with John Morgan of the MMA Underground, Jon Jones explained:
“I want Ciryl to see me for the first time and it be a nice surprise.”
Jon Jones discusses move to heavyweight
Jon ‘Bones‘ Jones is one of the most accomplished fighters in UFC history. The American athlete has been adding muscle to his frame to better perform in the heavyweight division and getting prepared for some time now. Although mentally, he has been preparing for different opponents. He said:
“I felt my psychical size and strength was ready to go about four months ago. Dana says there was never a Stipe fight on the line but there was, there was, they just couldn’t come to an agreement. I’ve been trying to prepare for Francis, I did a whole training camp preparing for Stipe, and now we got Ciryl Gane.”
On his training regimen, Jon Jones explained:
“I’ve been ready for a long time, I’ve been training non-stop, (for) three years, twice a day, sometimes three times a day. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a really long time, glad to have an opponent.” [Transcript courtesy of BJ Penn]
