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Ciryl Gane is getting ready to face Jon Jones at UFC 285. The bout will mark 'Bones' highly anticipated heavyweight debut after three years away from mixed martial arts. The No.1-ranked heavyweight recently made headlines when he shared that he only trains when a fight is announced, however, his coach recently claimed that has changed.
Speaking to Mike Heck Jr. of MMA Fighting, Fernand Lopez claimed that his fighter's strategy has changed, stating:
"He said on that sentence, 'that's something that I regret'. I've told you before, Ciryl is a lazy guy, but now I'm saying that Ciryl was a lazy guy."
Lopez noted that Ciryl Gane immediately began training following his UFC 270 heavyweight title bout against Francis Ngannou in which the No.1-ranked heavyweight lost via unanimous decision after being controlled on the ground. He further noted that the strategy would have been the same following his UFC Fight Night 209 victory over Tai Tuivasa, however, a hand injury delayed that.
The MMA Factory head coach also shared that the team brought a grappling coach to work with Gane before adding:
"Before, he was the lazy guy that was just training, and what I love about my relationship with him is that we sat down after the fight with Francis about all of these things. We started to speak, and we were working through the mental conditioning, and I was saying that my regret is that the development only happens when we don’t have a date."
It is unclear if Gane and his camp are attempting to play mind games leading up to the fight. If it is true, however, that he has just started taking training seriously, the No.1-ranked heavyweight could look like a different fighter at UFC 285.
Watch Fernand Lopez's full comments below:
Jon Jones casts doubt over Ciryl Gane's long-term UFC impact
Jon Jones will look to become the heavyweight champion when he faces Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. 'Bones' questioned the mentality of the man standing in his way while speaking on the UFC Embedded: Vlog Series, stating:
"I could have walked away with my titles, sailed off into the sunset. I'm not going to lose all these years to a guy who is just here right now. That's the way I view him. He's just here right now. His words let me know that he doesn't believe he'll be here for a long time and I'm not losing to a guy like that."
While Jones is likely referring to his opponent's comments that he is lazy and doesn't take training seriously, Gane's coach attempted to walk back those comments. The longtime light heavyweight champion will look to strengthen his already impressive resume by becoming the eighth fighter in UFC history to become a champion in two different weight classes.
Watch Jon Jones' comments on Ciryl Gane below (starting at the 8:56 mark):
