Judges and referees finalised for UFC 285: Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane, Derek Cleary given command over another title fight

Former light-heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones is set to make his highly-anticipated heavyweight debut at UFC 285 on March 4th, 2023.

Jones will face off against former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane, with the 265-pound title on the line in the main event of the evening. The bout will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which promises to be an exciting and highly competitive matchup.

The main card will also feature another explosive championship matchup for the women's flyweight title. Valentina Shevchenko, the defending champion, and Alexa Grasso will face off in the highly anticipated co-main event at the upcoming pay-per-view event.

You can check out the other matchups for the main card of UFC 285 below:

CAN'T WAIT 🍿 #UFC285 https://t.co/zxpY0lxKLg

With the fight event approaching its date, the Nevada Athletic Commission has assigned referees and judges for the main and co-main events at UFC 285.

According to MMA journalist Damon Martin, referee Marc Goddard will oversee the main event between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title, with the judges for the fight being Mike Bell, Sal D’Amato, and Ron McCarthy.

For the co-main event, referee Jason Herzog will be in charge when Shevchenko defends her flyweight title against Grasso, with the judges being Ben Cartlidge, Derek Cleary, and Chris Lee.

The remaining referee and judging assignments for the rest of the card are expected to be announced on the night of the event.

Jon Jones wants former heavyweight champ next, if successful in securing the title shot at UFC 285

Jon Jones has announced his sights are set on Stipe Miocic, the longest-reigning UFC heavyweight champion of all time. Jones made the announcement in a Twitter Spaces session with Kanpai Pandas, his recently announced NFT partner, during which he also discussed his eight-fight contract with the UFC.

Jones expressed his desire to face Miocic as soon as possible. He specified that his goal is to get out of his upcoming title fight with Gane without any major injuries and then move on to fight Miocic.

'Bones' said:

“I’ve got my sights on Stipe Miocic. I think it just means the most. There’s a lot of guys out there, but for me, personally, for my legacy, to defeat the greatest heavyweight of all-time, it just means the most to me…As far as how soon, hopefully I get out of this fight with no serious injuries, but I’d like to get [back] out there as soon as possible. My goal is anywhere from two to three fights depending on how it looks.”

You can check out Jon Jones' interview here.