We are just 24 hours away from Jon Jones’ long-awaited heavyweight debut tomorrow night (Sat., Mar. 4, 2023) at UFC 285 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and fight fans can now check out the official weigh-ins staredowns.
Tomorrow night will be a massive opportunity for Jones to return after a three-year layoff and remind the combat community that he remains the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. The former UFC light heavyweight champion is already widely considered the best fighter of all time, but Jones still feels the need to validate his role in today’s sport and chase down the most powerful title in all of combat sports.
Ahead of Jones’ heavyweight debut he squared off one final time with formidable counterpart, Ciryl Gane. Check out the Friday faceoff below:
A HEAVYWEIGHT KING WILL BE CROWNED! @JonnyBones is BACK against @Ciryl_Gane in tomorrow’s #UFC285 main event!
[ Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/twBcYMJ3ve ] pic.twitter.com/paLLuZkb6K
— UFC (@ufc) March 4, 2023
Also gracing the UFC 285 main card is reigning UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. “Bullet” will be looking to defend her title for the eighth-straight time as she takes on veteran contender Alexa Grasso. Shevchenko is the betting favorite to retain her title and essentially close out the 125-pound division. A victory for the champ could result in her long-awaited move back up to bantamweight for a trilogy match with UFC champion Amanda Nunes.
The final faceoff between Shevchenko and Grasso can be seen below:
Fighting for flyweight supremacy!! @BulletValentina defends her title against @AlexaGrasso in tomorrow’s co-main event!
[ #UFC285 | Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/twBcYMJ3ve ] pic.twitter.com/nG0LgP5awd
— UFC (@ufc) March 4, 2023
In addition, UFC 285’s PPV main card will also feature the Octagon debut of highly-touted middleweight prospect Bo Nickal. The former three-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion has been dominating the competition on the Contender Series, but now Nickal will try to carve out a promising run in the UFC’s stacked 185-pound division. He’ll be taking on veteran fighter Jamie Pickett and is currently coming in at a massive -2200 favorite. Needless to say, it will be an unprecedented letdown if Nickal doesn’t prevail Saturday night.
Check out their final staredown below:
BIG expectations opening tomorrow’s main card!@NoBickal gets his anticipated debut against @JamiePickettMMA!
[ #UFC285 | Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/twBcYMJ3ve ] pic.twitter.com/oVsp8g4v5m
— UFC (@ufc) March 4, 2023
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.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 285: “Jones vs. Gane” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 285 fight card and PPV lineup click here.