Ciryl Gane opened as a betting favorite in his second bid at the heavyweight title of the world. Surprising to some, this comes against the former pound-for-pound king Jon Jones in his move to heavyweight.
After a three-year hiatus, Jones will finally return to the UFC octagon at UFC 285 on March 4. It will be his first attempt to compete at the 265lb limit, where Gane first challenged Francis Ngannou for the title last year.
However, for the first time since fighting Stephen Bonnar in 2009, Jones began as a betting underdog. Betting sites opened with Gane at -166 and Jones at +140, but they’ve shifted dramatically since then.
Jones is now the favorite at -163 on MyBookie, while Gane is now the underdog at +127 on MyBookie as well. Meaning, a $126 wager is what it will take to win $100 on Jones, and $100 on Gane can return $108 in prize money.
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The last time we saw Jon Jones put on this kind of mass in his career was against Ovince Saint Preux in 2016, one of his most underwhelming performances. This has caused some to speculate as to whether he will look like himself as a heavyweight. On the other hand, having lost largely in the wrestling department in his first title fight, Gane has his work cut out for him as Jones looks to take him down with his Greco-Roman background.
Here are the opening odds for the pair’s last five fights:
Jon Jones’s last five fights
- vs. Dominick Reyes (W): -400
- vs. Thiago Santos (W): -850
- vs. Anthony Smith (W): -900
- vs. Alexander Gustafsson (W): -200
- vs. Daniel Cormier (D): -170
Ciryl Gane’s last five fights
- vs. Tai Tuivasa (W): -300
- vs. Francis Ngannou (L): +165
- vs. Derrick Lewis (W): -325
- vs. Alexander Volkov (W): -135
- vs. Jairzhinho Rozenstruik (W): -300
