Jon Jones talks past drug tests and his fight at UFC 285
LAS VEGAS – Jon Jones sat infront of the press at the official UFC 285 media day ahead of him facing Ciryl Gane in the main event.
UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane takes place Saturday, March 4 in Las Vegas with the main card at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on ESPN+ PPV. The prelims will be seen on ESPN, ESPN NEWS, and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT with the night’s action starting at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT with Early Prelims on ESPN+ (English and Spanish) and UFC Fight Pass.
In the main event, #1 ranked heavyweight contender Ciryl Gane (11-1) fighting out of Paris, France intends to make the most of his second shot at gold by delivering a career-defining performance. and former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (26-1) fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M. returns to the Octagon for the first time since February 2020 with his sights set on cementing himself as the greatest of all time. in a Super Fight for the vacant undisputed heavyweight title.
In the co-main event, undisputed UFC flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko (23-3) fighting out of Lima, Peru is the current undisputed flyweight champion, improved to 9-0 at the flyweight limit back in June of last year at UFC 275 in Singapore, defeating Brazilian contender, Taila Santos in a close, split decision victory in Kallang. Alexa Grasso (15-3) fighting out of Guadalajara, Mexico the streaking Mexican striker turned in a unanimous decision win over Viviane Araujo in the main event of UFC Vegas 62 last October. The victory came as Lobo Gym mainstay, Grasso’s fourth consecutive since her flyweight move.
In the video above, the former UFC light heavyweight champion states that his previous test results are no longer valid under a 2019 revision to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency rules and is hoping that his name is cleared of the previous failed drug tests.
“USADA has changed some of the rules regarding picograms and what’s allowed, and I’ve come to find out that all my findings are all under the new legal limit, meaning that I would’ve been cleared from every test that I’ve ever taken, and that means a lot to me,” Jones told reporters at the UFC 285 media day.
UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane Fight Card:
Main Card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET):
- Vacant Heavyweight Title Bout: Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane
- Women’s Flyweight Title Bout: Valentina Shevchenko vs Alexa Grasso
- Welterweight Bout: Geoff Neal vs Shavkat Rakhmonov
- Lightweight Bout: Mateusz Gamrot vs Jalin Turner
- Middleweight Bout: Bo Nickal vs Jamie Pickett
Preliminary Card #2 (ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET):
- Bantamweight Bout: Cody Garbrandt vs Trevin Jones
- Middleweight Bout: Derek Brunson vs Dricus Du Plessis
- Women’s Flyweight Bout: Viviane Araujo vs Amanda Ribas
- Middleweight Bout: Julian Marquez vs Marc-Andre Barriault
Preliminary Card #1 (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET):
- Welterweight Bout: Ian Garry vs Song Kenan
- Bantamweight Bout: Mana Martinez vs Cameron Saaiman
- Women’s Strawweight Bout: Jessica Penne vs Tabatha Ricci
- Bantamweight Bout: Da’Mon Blackshear vs Farid Basharat
- Lightweight Bout: Esteban Ribovics vs Loik Radzhabov
Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
