Ciryl Gane is approaching arguably the biggest fight of his mixed martial arts career when he locks horns with the returning Jon Jones in the UFC 285 headliner at the T-Mobile Arena.
'Bones' has been out of action for some time and will finally make his comeback later tonight, but will instead test himself in a new division, leaving light heavyweight in the past. If he manages to come out on top, he will join a short list of competitors who have claimed UFC gold in two different weight classes.
While speaking about Jon Jones prior to their clash, Ciryl Gane compared the Hall-of-Famer to his former opponent Francis Ngannou, insisting that the 35-year-old is his toughest test to date.
"The biggest challenge is going to be to manage this guy [Jones] because he's well-rounded, he has a lot of strengths... He's probably the biggest test I have in my life, for sure. [Bigger than the test against Francis Ngannou?] Yeah... He's a G.O.A.T., he's a legend... I want to beat this guy for this, to prove I can do it, and to prove I'm also the best guy on this planet... I want to surprise, I want to shock the world."
Ngannou possessed unnatural power and was able to put opponents to sleep at any point in the fight. While Jones is potentially the most well-rounded fighter to have ever graced the sport, making him a tougher test for the Frenchman.
Check out what Ciryl Gane had to say about his most difficult fight to date in the video below.
Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou: Will we ever see the two titans collide?
Where they're both at in their careers with Francis Ngannou seeking a boxing match and Jon Jones fighting for undisputed UFC heavyweight gold, it looks unlikely we will ever see the two meet in the cage.
Despite leaving the door open for a UFC return, 'The Predator' may be forced into another company as Dana White has openly stated his disinterest in re-signing the monstrous powerhouse.
With Jones set to compete against Gane and a possible bout with Stipe Miocic to follow, he possibly won't have too many more outings in the octagon, making the Ngannou super-fight almost impossible to put together.