Jon Jones’ Octagon return is now official.
Jones will face Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 285 on March 4. The bout will be for the vacant heavyweight title live from Las Vegas and airing on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
Tickets for the event are set to go on sale this week.
Jones (26-1, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) returns to the Octagon for the first time since February 2020 with his sights set on cementing himself as the greatest of all time.
Considered by many to be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in all of MMA, he holds the UFC records for most title fight wins (14), most light heavyweight wins (20) and the longest light heavyweight win streak (13).
Former interim UFC heavyweight champion Gane (11-1, fighting out of Paris, France) intends to make the most of his second shot at gold by delivering a career-defining performance.
A high-level striker, Gane has entertained fans with impressive knockouts of Tai Tuivasa, Derrick Lewis and former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos.
Additional bouts on the card include
- No. 7 ranked flyweight Viviane Araujo (11-4, fighting out of Brasilia, Brazil) looks to defend her spot in the rankings against No. 15 Amanda Ribas (11-3, fighting out of Varginha, Brazil)
- Bo Nickal (3-0, fighting out of Pleasant Gap, Penn.) makes his highly anticipated UFC debut against Jamie Pickett (13-8, fighting out of Wilmington, N.C.) at middleweight
- A thrilling welterweight contest sees No. 7 ranked Geoff Neal (15-4, fighting out of Dallas, Texas) battle No. 10 Shavkat Rakhmonov (16-0, fighting out of Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan)
- No. 5 ranked middleweight Derek Brunson (23-8, fighting out of Wilmington, N.C.) aims to halt the momentum of No. 10 Dricus Du Plessis (18-2, fighting out of Pretoria, South Africa)
- Former UFC bantamweight king Cody Garbrandt (12-5, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) returns to action against Julio Arce (18-6, fighting out of Bayside, N.Y.)
- Julian Marquez (9-3, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) locks horns with Marc-Andre Barriault (14-6, 1 NC, fighting out of Quebec, Canada) in a middleweight bout
- Exciting lightweights Kamuela Kirk (12-5, fighting out of Goodyear, Ariz.) and undefeated Dana White’s Contender Series alum Esteban Ribovics (11-0, fighting out of Cordoba, Argentina) plan to steal the show
- Da’Mon Blackshear (12-4-1, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) has his sights on securing his first UFC win against undefeated Dana White’s Contender Series alum Farid Basharat (9-0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.)
- Former strawweight title challenger Jessica Penne (14-7, fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif.) faces Tabatha Ricci (7-1, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil)
