Is Jon Jones' comparison between Ciryl Gane and Thiago Santos ignorance or mental warfare? Michael Bisping discusses
Jon Jones is set to return from a three-year hiatus when he makes his highly-anticipated heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 this weekend.
'Bones' recently shared that he doesn't consider Gane the most technical kickboxer he will have faced in his career, giving the honor to Thiago Santos instead. The former light heavyweight king hailed Santos' "lightning speed, power, explosiveness," and questioned why fans consider Gane a bigger threat on the feet than 'Marretta'.
Check out Jones' tweet below:
Man I just finished watching my Thiago Santos fight again. I think it’s crazy that you guys consider gane the most technical kickboxer I’ve ever faced. Everything Thiago did have bad intentions on it. Dude had lightning speed, power, explosiveness. Crazy versatility.
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping disagreed with Jon Jones' assessment. In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Bisping stated that while Thiago Santos is a "phenomenal force of nature" and a "tremendous kickboxer," the Brazilian isn't as dangerous as Ciryl Gane:
"He's [Jon Jones] thinking that Thiago Santos is a more dangerous kickboxer than Ciryl Gane - and listen, Thiago Santos is definitely a phenomenal force of nature, he's a tremendous kickboxer and he had an amazing run in the UFC - but is he as dangerous as Ciryl Gane? I say the answer to that is no, I don't think that he is."
Bisping then questioned whether Jones' take on the threat of Gane's striking was realistic, speculating that mind games could be afoot:
"You've also got to go into a fight realistic. Is he being realistic that Thiago Santos is a more devastating striker slash kickboxer than Ciryl Gane? I don't think so."
Watch Michael Bisping discuss Jon Jones' comments on Ciryl Gane below:
Jon Jones locked horns with Thiago Santos in his penultimate light heavyweight title defense. The duo squared off in the main event of UFC 239 in Las Vegas, Nevada, in what turned out to be one of the closest fights of Jones' career. He ultimately came away with a split-decision win to retain his title.
Jones then defended his title against Dominick Reyes in 2020 and vacated the belt just a few months later. He has spent that last three years bulking up in preparation for his heavyweight move, which will be underway against Ciryl Gane this Saturday.
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Chael Sonnen admits to taking banned substances prior to Jon Jones bout
Chael Sonnen challenged Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 159 back in 2013. While Jones earned a dominant TKO win on the night, Sonnen came away with some interesting realizations about the 205-pound kingpin.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Sonnen revealed that he was on banned substances during the fight and added that he could tell that Jones wasn't clean either:
"I had more juice than Tropicana and he pushed me around like a Mack truck versus a Volvo. As soon as we locked up with each other, as he's pushing me backwards before he comes with his big spinning elbow, I remember thinking, 'I know your secret, 'cause I got the same one.'"
Catch Chael Sonnen's comments below:
