Cyril Gane vs. Jon Jones UFC 285 Heavyweight Championship Odds

The time has finally come. Jon “Bones” Jones will be making his return to the UFC octagon after a three year hiatus against Cyril “Bon Gamin” Gane in a heavyweight championship bout at UFC 285 on March 4th. Possibly the greatest fighter to enter the UFC octagon, Jones comes into this matchup as the slight betting favorite on most UFC betting sites despite all of that time away from the game. Beating Gane, a former interim heavyweight champion will be no easy task as evidenced by tight moneyline odds.

Jon Jones vs. Cyril Gane Odds

With the UFC heavyweight championship belt on the line, most sports betting apps have the former light heavyweight champ, Jones, as the favorite over the former interim heavyweight champ, Gane. Check out each fighter’s odds to win the bout, courtesy of Bet99 sportsbook.

Jon Jones Odds

Arguably the greatest fighter in UFC history, Jones has not fought since 2020 because of various issues he’s had with the law, but especially with UFC president Dana White. All of that is behind him now, though, as he will make his long-awaited return to the promotion by jumping up a weight class from light heavyweight (205 pounds) and fighting instantly for the heavyweight title.

The question is, will the man they call “Bones” be the same guy that won 18 straight fights and ran up a 26-1 (1 NC) record in the octagon before his hiatus? It’s hard to tell. From social media posts one can see that he has clearly put some weight on to dance with the big boys at the heavyweight level, but will that added power sap his speed?

It’s hard to bet against a guy with the track record that Jones has, but rust will likely be a factor early in this five-round championship scrap. Training videos have shown that Bones still looks fast and smooth in his movements, and all things equal, he’s a much smarter and more experienced fighter than Gane.

Cyril Gane Odds

The 32-year-old Gane enters this bout with a three-year advantage over 35-year-old Jones, but the elder fighter does have a three-inch reach advantage Gane will need to contend with. Gane racked up impressive wins over Junior Dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Alexander Volkov before putting Derrick Lewis down to win the interim heavyweight belt in 2021.

Unfortunately, he lost in the belt-unifying fight against Francis Ngannou in 2022, allowing Ngannou to win the battle on the mat, where Jones is also very skilled. The decision loss to Ngannou was even worse for Gane considering his opponent was fighting with torn ligaments in his knee. “Bon Gamin” did bounce back this past September with a straight knockout of Tai Tuivasa, but not before Bam-Bam gave the Frenchman a scare when he stunned and knocked Gane down.

This will be the first time Gane enters a fight as the underdog, so it will be interesting how he deals with that. Gane has shown that he likes to work off his solid jab, but with Jones bringing his freakishly long limbs and an even better jab to the party, he’ll have to move to a different tactic. The only thing Gane really has going for him here is Jones’ extended octagon absence. If it wasn’t for that, Gane would be a much bigger underdog than he currently is.

Valentina vs. Alexa Grasso Odds 

One of, if not the most dominant fighters on the UFC roster will also defend her women’s flyweight belt at UFC 285 as Valentina Shevchenko allows Alexa Grasso a shot at the crown. While her last fight against Taila Santos resulted in a split decision win, that was the only time Shevchenko has really been challenged at 125 pounds.

Shevchenko’s only two losses in the UFC have been to another legend, Amanda Nunes, and the Kyrgyz fighter brings a dominant nine-fight win streak to the octagon here. Grasso is a UFC veteran and on a four fight win streak of her own coming into UFC 285, but with Shevchenko at -600 odds (a safe betting option if we’ve ever seen one) the Mexican mixed martial artist isn’t being given much of a chance.