Ali Abdelaziz unveils total PPV buys for UFC 285
UFC 285 may well have been a major commercial success, with Ali Abdelaziz claiming the event attracted almost one million pay-per-view buys.
The event featured a stacked card that included two title fights. Jon Jones' return headlined the evening as he took on Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight belt. The co-main event saw women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko fail to defend her belt against Alexa Grasso.
According to the Dominance MMA Management CEO, UFC 285's PPV buys were close to the one million mark and may even surpass that number when the official numbers are released.
Abdelaziz wrote on Twitter:
"Crazy last ppv almost 1, million insane"
Crazy last ppv almost 1, million insane
Jones' bout with Gane marked the end of his three-year stint away from the octagon as he faced the Frenchman for the vacant heavyweight title. Much had been made prior to the fight about whether 'Bones' would be able to handle the speed and size of 'Bon Gamin'.
In typical Jon Jones style, he made it look like business as usual. Just over two minutes into the first round, the 35-year-old forced Gane to submit, cementing himself as the greatest fighter of all time in the eyes of many.
The biggest upset on the card was courtesy of Alexa Grasso, She stunned the world when she submitted Valentina Shevchenko in the fourth round. Despite being taken down by 'Bullet' on multiple occasions, she was more than holding her own in the stand-up department prior to the finish.
man the second alexa grasso was able to get her back she went to work fast https://t.co/QFRNcBdTIW
Francis Ngannou reacts to UFC 285 main event
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has given his thoughts on Jon Jones' performance against Ciryl Gane this past weekend.
'Bones' showed little to no signs of ring rust following his three-year hiatus as he took the Frenchman down to the mat and submitted him in the third minute of the first round.
Ngannou believes, however, that Jones' decision to land the early takedown was because he was getting impatient.
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME IS NOW THE HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMP 🏆
JON JONES SUBMITS CIRYL GANE!! #UFC285 https://t.co/JOiAnweVJ5
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, 'The Predator' stated that he felt Jon Jones may have been afraid of Gane's stand-up, and took the fight at UFC 285 to the mat to prevent him from executing his gameplan.
He said:
"What I did notice is that Jon was rushing. Jon didn’t want to give him space, because I think he was afraid of something. Maybe he’d get exhausted at some point, not be able to grab him, so he was chasing him from the first minute to grab him. It worked out pretty good, but it tells me something like he wasn’t very confident, he was rushing, which is good for him [smiles].”
Catch Ngannou's comments here: