Jon âBonesâ Jones added another page to his historic mixed martial arts career on Saturday night.
After being away from the Octagon for more than three years, Jones successfully moved up to heavyweight winning the divisionâs vacant title with a dominant first-round submission victory over Cyril Gane in the main event of UFC 285 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Jones needed just two minutes and four seconds to dispatch of the highly touted Frenchman. The former light heavyweight champion marched across the Octagon, took Gane down, pressed him against the fence, locked in the guillotine to induce the submission win and Jonesâ second championship in as many weight classes.
If that sounded easy, itâs because thatâs how Jones made it look.
Here is a look at the finish:
The win moved Jonesâ record to 27-1 overall and he remains undefeated in championship bouts. Gane, who also lost his previous attempt to win the heavyweight crown in January 2022 against Francis Ngannou (who vacated the title when he left the promotion), had rebounded and earned this opportunity with a KO victory over Tai Tuivasa in September 2022.
Gane is now 11-2 overall.
After the fight, a July championship defense against Stipe Miocic was mentioned to Jones while the camera panned to the former in the crowd.
Jones took the opportunity to call Miocic out and the latter accepted the challenge seemingly setting the stage for a monumental main event in July.
Jones became just the second fighter in UFC history to hold both the light heavyweight and heavyweight championships in their career. His dominance at 205 pounds and now subsequent crowning at heavyweight strengthens his argument as the G.O.A.T in all mixed martial arts.
Here is a look at all of the results from Saturday night.
- Jon Jones def. Cyril Gane by first-round submission (guillotine)
- Alexa Grasso def. Valentina Shevchenko by fourth-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Geoff Neal by third-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Mateusz Gamrot def. Jalin Turner by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Bo Nickal def. Jamie Pickett by first-round submission (arm triangle)
- Cody Garbrandt def. Trevin Jones by unanimous decision (29-28×3)
- Dricus Du Plessis def. Derek Brunson by second-round TKO (corner throws in the towel)
- Amanda Ribas def. Viviane Araujo by unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)
- Marc-Andre Barriault def. Julian Marquez by second-round TKO
- Ian Garry def. Kenan Song by third-round TKO
- Cameron Saaiman def. Mana Martinez by majority decision (29-26, 28-27, 28-28).
- Tabitha Ricci def. Jessica Penne by second-round submission (arm bar)
- Farid Basharat def. DaâMon Blackshear by unanimous decision (29-28×3)
- Loik Radzhabov def. Esteban Ribovics by unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Grasso Dethrones Shevchenko
While Jones was solidifying his greatness, another all-time great took a rare defeat. Valentina Shevchenko lost her womenâs flyweight title to Alexa Grasso in the co-main event via fourth-round submission.
The two women battled in a back-and-forth affair before an errant spinning back kick put Shevchenko in a compromising position in the fourth round. Grasso quickly took the championâs back, locked in a rear-naked choke (that was actually more of a face crank) to force the submission.
Grasso became the third Mexican champion in the UFC, joining Brandon Moreno and Yair Rodriguez. The loss not only cost Shevchenko her title, it also ended her unbeaten string at flyweight. It was her first defeat overall since she dropped a split decision to Amanda Nunes at bantamweight back in September 2017.
Shevchenko requested and is likely to get an immediate rematch with Grasso considering the competitiveness of their fight and her longstanding reign as champion coming into the fight.
Bo Nickal Makes a Splash in His UFC Debut
Youâll rarely see a fighter make his UFC debut on a pay-per-view main card, let alone one as big as the event that welcomes a star like Jones back to the Octagon. Thatâs the spot former collegiate wrestling champion Bo Nickal was in on Saturday night. After a pair of impressive performances on Dana Whiteâs Tuesday Night Contender series, Nickal brought his talents to the big show and he did not disappoint.
After an awkward and perhaps nervous spinning kick attempt in the opening seconds, Nickalâs world-class grappling skills proved too much for Jamie Pickett. Nickal quickly took Pickettâs back and worked patiently to secure a submission win via arm triangle choke.
Here is a look at the finish:
Pickett suggested an illegal blow led to Nickal gaining the advantage that led to the submission. This footage would seemingly support his claim.
It would be a surprise if the result of the fight is changed or if this is enough to slow Nickalâs hype train. Nickal improved to 4-0 with the win and the competition figures to get stiffer in his next bout.
Bonus Winners
Jones and Grasso werenât just the biggest winners atop the card, the two newly crowned champions also earned $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses for ther wins.
Also, Geoff Neal (who missed weight on Friday) and Shavkat Rakhmonov won $50K apiece for Fight of the Night.