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Jon Jones' heavyweight debut went about as perfectly as he could have planned as he needed just over two minutes to submit Ciryl Gane and claim the vacant title.
Following the dominant performance, 'Bones', who had been inactive for three years, was elevated to the top spot in the pound-for-pound rankings. Alexander Volkanovski, who was the No.1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter prior to Jones' return, recently shared his thoughts on being passed in the rankings.
Speaking on Steve-O's Wild Ride!, the featherweight champion stated:
"You're right - it was just that one [fight in three years], but what he did, moving up, at least he moved up and showed that pound-for-pound comes into play. The body of work that we’ve done in the last three years, obviously, a lot of people are gonna be like, 'look what Alex has done in the last three years.'"
Alexander Volkanovski continued:
"You can get that, but at the same time, look at what Jon Jones has done as well. Can I really argue that when you look at it? He’s gonna be one of the greatest of all time. For him to take that is like, 'd**n it, what do you do?"
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (starting at the 20:11 mark):
Despite three years of inactivity, Jon Jones' performance at UFC 285 was deemed strong enough to earn the top spot in the pound-for-pound rankings. The heavyweight champion had previously shared that he wasn't concerned with the pound-for-pound rankings and was instead fighting for the status of greatest of all time.
Dana White claims Jon Jones' heavyweight debut would have the same result against Francis Ngannou
Francis Ngannou's departure from the UFC prevented a highly-anticipated bout between the former heavyweight champion and Jon Jones. UFC President Dana White recently revealed that he believes 'The Predator' would have been dominated in the same manner as Ciryl Gane, stating:
“I think that’s exactly the way the fight would’ve gone if [Ngannou] was in there, too. Him and Ciryl had a five-round war [at UFC 270], and if Ciryl doesn’t go for that submission, Ciryl probably wins that fight at the end of the fifth round there.”
Catch Dana White's full comments on Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou below (starting at the 2:17 mark):
While Ngannou did need the judges to defeat Gane, he was competing with a torn ACL and MCL. It is unclear what the former heavyweight champion's plans are going forward as he is now a mixed martial arts free agent. Jones, who claimed the vacant heavyweight throne, is likely to face Stipe Miocic at International Fight Week in July.
