Jon Jones is making his debut at heavyweight and has not fought in three years, so there is some uncertainty as to how he will look given the long layoff and new division. At Jones’ peak, he was a matchup nightmare because he was elite at both fighting at range and fighting inside. Jones’ long limbs and lengthy kicks allowed him to pepper away at an opponent’s base from a safe distance, and his elite clinch game made closing the distance on him and fighting inside a bad idea. Jones’ elite wrestling also kept him off his back and allowed him to dictate where the fight took place.
However, Jones was not nearly as dominant at the end of his light heavyweight title run as he was in the beginning, and the last time we saw Jones, he narrowly edged out a decision win over Dominick Reyes in a close fight that some felt Reyes won. Jones’ length advantage will also be less evident at heavyweight, where opponents generally have bigger and longer frames. Ciryl Gane’s 81-inch reach is the longest reach of any opponent Jones has faced in his UFC career.
Jones and Gane are similar in that they both are excellent at managing distance and throwing long, rangy strikes. Gane uses his length well offensively, particularly through his kicks. Gane’s kicking game is a safe way to attack offensively because he is generally able to land strikes outside of his opponent’s punching range. Gane’s striking game is very well-rounded, featuring an assortment of kicks, knees, elbows and punches that land to the legs, body and head. Gane’s kickboxing skill and athleticism really stand out at heavyweight, a division that can often feature less-technical brawls between fighters who aren’t as skilled or athletic as fighters in the lighter weight classes.
Gane has landed more than twice the significant strikes he has absorbed, landing over five significant strikes per minute while absorbing about two significant strikes per minute. Gane’s ability to evade significant strikes is also supported by his rate stats, as he has avoided a strong 62% of opponent significant strike attempts. Jones’ striking metrics are very similar: Jones has avoided an excellent 64% of opponent significant strike attempts and has landed about twice as many strikes as he has absorbed.
