VIDEO: A year ago, Jon Jones ran over Ciryl Gane and became heavyweight champion at UFC 285

Jon Jones receiving the heavyweight belt in UFC 285 (Photo: Instagram/UFC)

A year ago, Jon Jones he returned to the octagon in an apotheotic way and put his name, definitively, at the top of the ranking of greatest athletes in the history of MMA. On March 04, 2023, 'Bones' finished the French Cyryl Gane He quickly won the heavyweight belt (up to 120,2kg) and showed fans of the sport that he still had 'wood to burn' as a professional fighter.

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after winning Dominick reyes in a controversial unanimous decision, in February 2020, Jon Jones he gave up the light heavyweight belt (up to 93kg) and revealed that he would begin his preparations so he could move up a category and move to heavyweight. What no one, perhaps only Jones himself, knew was that this change would take more than three years to officially happen.

With the troubled departure of Francis Ngannou of Ultimate, the organization wasted no time and scaled Jon Jones x Cyryl Gane for the then vacant heavyweight belt. The Cameroonian's last rival, the French star would be responsible for welcoming the biggest name in the history of the sport into the division.

On March 04, 2023, the octagon was set up at the T-Mobile Arena for a war between two of today's biggest heavyweights, but the fight was so uneven that it was embarrassing. Aware of Gane's deficiency in grappling, Jones took the Frenchman down in the first minute of the fight and landed a quick guillotine, forcing the former interim champion to tap out.

With the quick victory, Jones became heavyweight champion and joined the select list of fighters who were UFC champions in more than one category. At the moment, 'Bones' is recovering from two surgeries and a serious chest injury to be able to defend his title for the first time, probably against the veteran Stipe Miocic.