Robert Whittaker picks Jon Jones to defeat Ciryl Gane within one round

There has been a lot of talk among MMA fans ever since Francis Ngannou left the UFC and Jon Jones was announced to fight Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title. However, Robert Whittaker has his money on Jon Jones, the returning fighter.

Francis Ngannou, a heavyweight fighter, did not re-sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship after negotiations went down. The 36-year-old fighter has not disclosed his plans for the future, reason why the heavyweight title is now up for grabs.

Ciryl Gane will face Jon Jones for the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 💪 pic.twitter.com/iWy2MKMUiM

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 15, 2023

Ciryl Gane made his debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2019, and since then he has competed in nine bouts, winning eight of them and losing only one of them, which was to Francis, a previous heavyweight champion. The 32-year-old fighter has an overall 11-1 record in mixed martial arts right now.

On the other hand, Jon Jones has been extremely successful in MMA, with an astonishing record of 26-1-0. Jon Jones, who made his debut with the UFC in 2008 and competed in his final fight in 2020, has proven to be a formidable opponent over the course of his career, losing only once—to Matt Hamill. 

On March 4th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Jon and Gane will be fighting it out in the octagon in order to regain possession of the heavyweight title. UFC middleweight fighter Robert Whittaker thinks Jones is going to take Gane down and lay on him and just finish him.

Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane, #UFC285, pour le titre heavyweight it’s on 👑 pic.twitter.com/GLTFdhFA8Q

— La Sueur (@LaSueur_off) January 14, 2023

Whittaker recently told Fox Sports Australia that in his perspective, nobody comes close to what Jon Jones can produce in the octagon and that the American’s wrestling is “next-caliber.” Robert also provided a comprehensive defense of his prediction that Jones will emerge victorious in the competition.

“If you look at his statistics, he can take people down with ease. He can grapple them with ease. He can strike with the best of them. He’s got cardio and strength and power and height and physique. He has it all. And Jones probably has the highest IQ in the game. He can see a weakness and he’ll exploit it.” Whittaker explained.

Jon Jones' mentality ahead of his comeback 😤 pic.twitter.com/ERgUtiMeDp

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 19, 2023

For the Reaper, Jon Jones is the greatest of all time and the best fighter of all time in pound for pound. Similarly, the Australian fighter respects Jones for the damage he inflicts on his opponents and the standard he sets as a champion, believing that no one has ever come close to matching Jones’s dominance.