ESPN
Mar 3, 2023, 03:00 PM ET
Jon Jones returns from an absence of over three years when he faces Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight championship in one of two title bouts at UFC 285 on Saturday night in Las Vegas (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m ET main card).
Jones (26-1, 1 NC), the longtime light heavyweight champion with a history of career highs and lows, last fought in February 2020, when he defeated Dominick Reyes by unanimous decision. Jones vacated his 205-pound title that August, with the intention of moving to heavyweight.
Gane (11-1) is just one fight removed from challenging Francis Ngannou for the heavyweight title in January 2022. Ngannou has since fought out his contract and departed the UFC, necessitating this bout to fill the vacancy. Gane is No. 2 in the ESPN heavyweight rankings, behind only Ngannou.
The other title fight is the co-main event between women's flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko (23-3) and challenger Alexa Grasso (15-3). Shevchenko, the UFC's longest-reigning current champion with seven title defenses since winning the belt in 2018, is No. 2 in the ESPN pound-for-pound women's rankings. Grasso is ranked seventh among flyweight women by ESPN.
The main card at T-Mobile Arena will be on ESPN+ pay-per-view starting at 10 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPN News, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. and early prelims on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m.
What are the storylines behind the UFC 285 fights? How are experts breaking them down? What do the fighters have to say? Here is the fight card, how to watch it and a collection of all of the UFC 285 essentials.
UFC 285 fight card
ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET
Heavyweight championship: Ciryl Gane vs. Jon Jones
Women's flyweight championship: Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs. Alexa Grasso
Welterweight: Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Geoff Neal
Lightweight: Mateusz Gamrot vs. Jalin Turner
Middleweight: Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett
ESPN/ESPNews/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET
Men's bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt vs. Trevin Jones
Middleweight: Derek Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis
Women's flyweight: Viviane Araujo vs. Amanda Ribas
Middleweight: Julian Marquez vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET
Welterweight: Ian Garry vs. Song Kenan
Men's bantamweight: Mana Martinez vs. Cameron Saaiman
Strawweight: Jessica Penne vs. Tabatha Ricci
Men's bantamweight: Da'Mon Blackshear vs. Farid Basharat
Lightweight: Kamuela Kirk vs. Esteban Ribovics
(c) = defending champion
How to watch the fights
Watch the PPV and all other fights on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
Watch the prelims on ESPN News, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ and early prelims on ESPN+. Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN | TV schedule
Don't have ESPN News and ESPN Deportes? Get instant access.
Purchased the fight on your phone and want to stream on your TV? Find out how here.
There's also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
Inside Jon Jones' heavyweight journey ahead of UFC 285
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Jon Jones was giddy entering the Zia Strength Systems gym one afternoon last summer. Jones could not wait to tell Jordan Chavez, his strength and conditioning coach, the good news.
Jones had fought the entirety of his accolade-filled career at light heavyweight -- 205 pounds. Before cutting to that weight for competition, the man regarded by many as the greatest MMA fighter ever, walked around at about 230.
On that day, though, Jones was over the moon, telling Chavez he woke up weighing 263 pounds, two pounds from the heavyweight limit.
"He was pumped," Chavez told ESPN. "Shows me a picture and everything of the scale. And I was like, 'Alright, well, we're right where you wanted to be.'"
Since relinquishing the UFC light heavyweight title in August 2020, Jones has been slowly, steadily bulking up to take on his next challenge: becoming the world's heavyweight champion. Nearly three years and more than 30 pounds later, the time has finally come.
Read the story.
Ranking UFC 285 fights: What's the No. 1 reason Jones vs. Gane is a can't-miss?
Jon Jones returns this weekend.
Allow me to repeat that with appropriate emphasis and enthusiasm: Jon Jones! Returns! This weekend!
I had to resist the urge to go all caps there, because this is BIG. Jones will be fighting for the first time in over three years when he steps into the Octagon for the main event of UFC 285 on Saturday night in Las Vegas (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m ET).
Jones' meeting with Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight championship is not just the biggest fight on this weekend's pay-per-view card at T-Mobile Arena, it's the biggest fight the sport has seen in years. This is the return of the consensus GOAT of MMA, and he's not simply coming back to reclaim what he left behind. The seemingly forever light heavyweight champ is stepping into a new domain, making his debut in the world of the big boys.
Jones' heavyweight quest is the story of the weekend, but it's not the only story. His fight is not even the only title bout at UFC 285, as Valentina Shevchenko defends her flyweight championship against Alexa Grasso in the co-main event. And there are other potential highlights sprinkled throughout the night.
Read the story.
Jon Jones' complicated legacy of MMA greatness and personal troubles
Jon Jones was just 23 years old when he became light heavyweight champion in 2011, making him the youngest belt holder in UFC history. He looked unbeatable and the sky was the limit, it seemed. But it has been a bumpy road for "Jonny Bones" ever since, with a mixture of breathtaking victories and issues away from the Octagon.
As Jones prepares to return to the Octagon after a three-year absence on March 4, making his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in Las Vegas for the newly vacant UFC heavyweight championship, here is a selective timeline of a career filled with high and low points:
April 12, 2008: Jones makes his professional MMA debut at a Full Force Productions event in Boxborough, Massachusetts, beating Brad Bernard by TKO at 1:32 of the first round in a catchweight bout (210 pounds). He will fight again one week later, then one week after that, both stoppage wins.
Read the story.
It all adds up to domination: Valentina Shevchenko by the numbers
Valentina Shevchenko will make her first Octagon appearance of 2023 at UFC 285 on Saturday. The UFC women's flyweight champion will put her title on the line against Alexa Grasso in the co-main event.
Shevchenko has been one of the most dominant fighters in the promotion and the sport since making her UFC debut in 2015. Her only losses have come against women's GOAT Amanda Nunes in March 2016 and again in September 2017. However, both of those fights took place at women's bantamweight.
Here is a look at the numbers behind Shevchenko's dominance, starting with one of her many records in the women's flyweight division:
Read the story.
