Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane official for UFC 285 heavyweight title on the line, per Dana White

Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane official for UFC 285.

Rumors began swirling when several photos of a fight poster featuring Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane headlining UFC 285 was seen hanging from Las Vegas, NV’s T-Mobile arena. The image raised some questions of validity but then the UFC president Dana White confirmed the news during the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight presser.

The fight will be for the official heavyweight title.

The bout will be Jones’ return to the Octagon for the first time since he defeated Dominick Reyes in February 2020. Jones spent time off making a move to heavyweight and stepping in to face the former interim UFC heavyweight champion and the current No. 1 ranked UFC heavyweight, Gane.

Jon Jones will make his long-awaited heavyweight debut in March

This coincides with Gane’s tweet calling out Jones earlier this week.

https://twitter.com/ciryl_gane/status/1613628816231907328

Gane is coming off a stunning win over Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris which earned him the Fight of the Night honors. His only loss comes to Francis Ngannou, the reigning champion, who has been sidelined due to contract negotiations.

Jones confirmed the news shortly before the UFC announcement.

Jones will be returning to the Octagon for the first time since he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and subsequently got into a domestic violence situation with his fiance and the mother of his children in a Las Vegas hotel.