UFC 285 Odds, Props, Predictions: Jones vs. Gane Battle for Vacant Heavyweight Title in Vegas

After three years away from the Octagon, Jon Jones is back. 

The former Light Heavyweight Champion is set to make his long-awaited heavyweight debut against former Interim Champion Ciryl Gane this Saturday at UFC 285.

The two are set to meet at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV as the headliners of a stacked card. 

UFC 285 Main Event Odds: Jones vs. Gane

Jones, who is considered the GOAT of MMA by many including UFC President Dana White, is the slight favorite heading into Saturday at around -155 in the sportsbooks.

This makes Gane a slight underdog at around +135.

UFC 285 Co-Main Event Odds: Shevchenko vs. Grasso

Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko returns after a hard-fought battle with Talia Santos last year. The champ comes in as a pretty sizable favorite at around -600. 

Grasso, the underdog in this matchup, is available at around +460 at most sportsbooks.

UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane Betting Preview

Jones Returns to Claim New Throne

The world of MMA is abuzz this week with excitement for the return of Jon Jones.

Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) hasn’t fought since Feb. 2020. Back then, the COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t yet shut down the United States and the vast majority of sports outside of the UFC, which in turn saw an explosion of popularity and new fans. As a result, there are many fans who will be watching a Jones fight for the first time this week.

This one, in particular, is a big deal. It’s Jones’ debut at heavyweight, which has been talked about for almost a decade now. And there are many questions. Will size affect his speed? Can Jones hold his own against bigger men like Gane? Will the time away from the cage be a detriment? 

We will have to wait and see.

As stated before, Jones is considered by many to be the greatest of all time in MMA. His only loss came by DQ due to illegal elbows against Matt Hamill back in 2009. Outside of that, he has beaten fellow champions Daniel Cormier, Glover Teixeira, Shogun Rua, and Rampage Jackson. 

He also has wins over Alexander Gustafsson, Lyoto Machida, Anthony Smith, Dominick Reyes, Thiago Santos, Chael Sonner, Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans, and current Bellator Champion Ryan Bader. 

Jones is extremely versatile and has been since he became the youngest UFC champion in history at just 23 years old. He’s dangerous on the feet with a ridiculous reach of 87 inches. He throws elbows as smooth as jabs and he’s not afraid to kick high and throw in flying knees in the blink of an eye. 

On the ground, he’s been just as dominant. He’s a strong, athletic wrestler who isn’t afraid to throw down with some of the best wrestlers in the organization like Cormier.

Now if he can add a heavyweight championship to his legacy, it will be just a tad bit harder for naysayers to deny the GOAT status.

Gane Looks to Take Down a Legend

One man stands in between Jones and the heavyweight belt and he’s not an easy task.

Ciryl Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is coming off a strong win over Tai Tuivasa, where he came back from getting rocked to turning around and getting a TKO.

Gane, who hails from Paris, France, has had an impactful career so far as he’s risen to being at the top of the division. He won the interim belt against fan-favorite Derrick Lewis but failed to unify it against then-champion Francis Ngannou as he got surprisingly outwrestled.

Gane’s a quick heavyweight with great kickboxing skills. He has grinded out many decision wins throughout his career so far, only finishing former champ Junior Dos Santos on the feet and submitting a couple of opponents in his first couple of UFC bouts. 

His decision wins include Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Tanner Boser.

Typically, Gane also holds his own on the ground as he’s strong and fast, which makes him an outlier at heavyweight. But again, watching Ngannou mostly manhandle him across five rounds showed a blueprint, even without Ngannou’s massive size.

Gane wants that real belt and he has said he does respect Jones as the GOAT, so with that in mind, expect a cautious and calculated Gane to come out and try to pick apart Jones on the feet, while relying on his sharp kickboxing.

UFC 285 Props

The props are endless for bettors to wage on during this week’s main event. Here are some of the best odds across multiple sportsbooks.

Method of Victory

Jones by KO/TKO: +380 (FanDuel)

Jones by submission: +750 (DraftKings)

Jones by decision: +180 (FanDuel)

Gane by KO/TKO +500 (FanDuel)

Gane by submission +1600 (DraftKings)

Gane by decision: +330 (DraftKings)

Total Rounds

4.5 (over -140, under +110 at DraftKings)

Alternate Total Rounds (DraftKings)

Over 0.5 (-6000), Under 0.5 (+1100)

Over 1.5 (-525), Under 1.5 (+340)

Over 2.5 (-270), Under 2.5 (+195)

Over 3.5 (-190), Under 3.5 (+140)

Will Fight Go The Distance?

Yes: -135 at DraftKings

No: +100 at DraftKings

How Fight Will End

Submission (+480 at FanDuel)

KO/TKO (+185 at FanDuel)

Decision (-140 at FanDuel)

UFC 285 Main Card Odds

Here is your main card lineup for UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane, along with each fighter’s moneyline odds at DraftKings:

Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones (-155) vs. Ciryl Gane (+135)

Women’s Flyweight Championship: Valentina Shevchenko (-610) vs. Alexa Grasso (+460)

Welterweight Bout: Geoff Neal (+390) vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov (-490)

Lightweight Bout: Mateusz Gamrot (-215) vs. Jalin Turner (+185)

Middleweight Bout: Bo Nickal (-1500) vs. Jamie Pickett (+900)

UFC 285 Prelim Card Odds

Since the prelims are stacked as well, here are the fights now available and money lines, also from DraftKings.

Bantamweight Bout: Cody Garbrandt (-170) vs. Trevin Jones (+145)

Middleweight Bout: Derek Brunson (+190) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (-225)

Women’s Flyweight Bout: Vivane Araujo (+100) vs. Amanda Ribas (-120)

Middleweight: Julian Marquez (+130) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (-150)

Welterweight: Ian Garry (-675) vs. Kenan Song (+500)

Bantamweight: Mana Martinez (+255) vs. Cameron Saaiman (-305)

Women’s Strawweight: Jessica Penne (+230) vs. Tabatha Ricci (-275)

UFC 285 Predictions

• Jon Jones moneyline: -155 (DraftKings)
  • Go a little bigger: Jon Jones to win by KO/TKO or decision double chance: -140 (DraftKings)
  • Go a lot bigger: Jon Jones to win by KO/TKO: +350 (DraftKings)
• Valentina Shevchenko by KO/TKO: +175 (DraftKings)
• Geoff Neal vs Shavkat Rakhmonov to end by KO/TKO: +105 (DraftKings)

UFC 285 Event Info

Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023
Start Time: Early Prelims at 5:30 p.m. ET, Main at 10 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: ESPN+ PPV