Jon Jones is starting to take things personally.
It’s neither Jones’ nor his UFC 285 opponent, Ciryl Gane’s, first big UFC fight week rodeo. Everyone has their own styles of preparation and ways that they prepare, but from Jones’ seat, he doesn’t see the Frenchman as taking things as seriously as he should be.
“I hear that Ciryl Gane’s online soccer team is ranked Top 60 in the world,” Jones said on Episode 4 of UFC “Embedded” (watch Episodes 1, 2, and 3 here, here, and here). “I’m sitting here focused on combat, he’s out here playing video games. The job is to have no mercy at the end of the day whether he is ready for this opportunity or not. Somewhere inside of him he thinks there’s a chance that he’s gonna take food off my family’s table, come and destroy my legacy, and that’s something I take very personal. There’s no mercy.
“Probably in France, he’s super popular right now,” he added. “They don’t care whether they win or lose. They’re just glad to be here. We saw his coach wear a friggin tuxedo for his interview. His coaches are in suits, you guys haven’t even showered today (laughs).”
Jones’s contest versus Gane will see him look to claim vacant undisputed Heavyweight gold after three years away from the Octagon. Gane, on the other hand, gets his second crack after coming up short against Francis Ngannou in Jan. 2022 via unanimous decision (watch highlights).
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 285 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
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