UFC 285 is just around the corner. The event will take place on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will feature two title bouts.
The event will be headlined by former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones, who is moving up in weight and will finally step foot in the octagon again after being inactive for 3 years.
He will be welcomed by heavyweight top contender Ciryl Gane. The pair will exchange blows for the vacant heavyweight belt.
Meanwhile, the co-main event will feature a women’s flyweight title bout between long reigning champion Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso, who is on her 4th win in a row.
With one week before the kick off and no other events on the way, the UFC is fully focusing on UFC 285 now. During UFC Vegas 70 press conference yesterday, UFC head honcho Dana White was asked tons of questions regarding the major event.
White explained that the heavyweight title bout between Jones and Gane will have a back-up athlete, in case one of them has to be replaced.
“Is there a backup fighter for the main event? Yes, we always have backups for those kinds of fights.” White said.
Unfortunately, when asked about the details for the backup athlete, White refused to give the name yet.
“I’m not gonna- I’m not gonna say it, but yeah, we got a backup.” White answered.
Heavyweight division is typically considered the shallowest division in the promotion so it’s interesting to see what’s happening. Possible runners up include Stipe Miocic and Curtis Blaydes with Miocic being the considerably pricier option.
The UFC is providing back-up athletes more often nowadays, especially for the headliner. The organization made a good choice, especially with Jon Jones on the card. The 35-year-old never missed weight at light heavyweight and is less likely in heavyweight. However, he tested positive for PEDs multiple times in the past and caused the cancellation of some of his cards.