Jon Jones says he always believed Ciryl Gane would win his UFC Freedom 250 fight with Alex Pereira and cautioned that Pereira came in too heavy for his first heavyweight appearance, costing him the speed that defines his game.
Jones spoke to Red Corner MMA about both fighters.
On Gane:
I don’t want to sound arrogant, and I know that this is probably going to sound arrogant, but I feel like you shouldn’t hang your hat on losing to me. I have a really special gift when it comes to this fighting. Losing to me doesn’t mean that you’re going to be losing, or that you’re a bad fighter. I made the Gane fight look fairly easy, but to the rest of the world, he’s one of the most special heavyweights in recent history. So I knew that Cyril Gane, I felt like he would win. I know what he possesses.
On Pereira:
I watched the fight for sure. I felt like Pereira, he came in too big. I think he would have been better off fighting around 230, 235 pounds, keeping that speed. I feel like his power would have possibly translated over. But in the fight, you just saw him, he was waiting. He was second-guessing things. He was questioning things. And that’s one of the worst things to do in a fight.
Jones submitted Gane in 2023 to claim the vacant UFC heavyweight title. He had been seeking a fight with Pereira before announcing his retirement in 2025.