The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 285: “Jones vs Gane.” The card was headlined by a vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between the returning Jon “Bones” Jones and former interim titleholder Ciryl “Bon Gamin” Gane.
In the co-main event, UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko put her title on the line against Alexa Grasso. Elsewhere on the card, Geoff “Handz of Steel” Neal met Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov in a 175-pound clash. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC 285.
Vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship
Jon “Bones” Jones vs Ciryl “Bon Gamin” Gane
Round 1:
Time was called almost immediately when Jones was kicked in the groin. The fight continued and Jones landed an overhand right. Jones cut off the cage and he ducked under a left hook from Gane. Jones dragged Gane down to the ground and then attempted a guillotine choke on a seated Gane. He got the choke on his second try and Gane tapped out immediately.
Winner: Jon Jones by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:04 of round one. He improves to 27-1-0, 1 NC and becomes the new UFC Heavyweight Champion.
UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship
Alexa Grasso vs Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko
Round 1:
Shevchenko landed a hard kick to the body early in the fight and narrowly missed with a spinning wheel kick. Grasso landed a left hook and Shevchenko answered back with a jab-cross combo. Grasso landed a right hook and Shevchenko jabbed. Grasso landed a massive left-right combo that appeared to wobble Shevchenko momentarily. Shevchenko recovered quickly and just missed with a head kick attempt. She landed a one-two and a body kick, but Grasso took her down to a knee and then held Shevchenko against the cage. Shevchenko used a headlock throw to take Grasso down just before the bell. Close opening round. 10-9 Grasso.
Round 2:
Shevchenko took Grasso down in the opening seconds of round two. She passed to side control and trapped Grasso in a top-side crucifix. Grasso kicked off of the cage and managed to spin free, and she escaped to her feet. The fighters traded jabs and Grasso closed in with a quick flurry. Shevchenko took her down into side control once more and Grasso got back to half-guard, where the round ended. 10-9 Shevchenko.
Round 3:
After landing quick jabs, Shevchenko followed with a three-punch combo as Grasso threw a one-two in return. Shevchenko landed a left hook and grazed with a head kick. Shevchenko dropped levels and took Grasso down with a double-leg. She held Grasso down and landed occasional right hands while Grasso threw short punches from the bottom. The fighters were stood up and Shevchenko took Grasso back down. Grasso landed an illegal upkick on the ground that went undetected and Shevchenko took her back. Grasso turned over and ended the round with a guillotine choke attempt. 10-9 Shevchenko.
Round 4:
Grasso jabbed and avoided a spinning back kick attempt from Shevchenko. She stuffed a takedown and the fighters continued to trade jabs. Shevchenko failed with a takedown attempt, but she landed four jabs in a row and Grasso shot in for a takedown of her own. Shevchenko remained on her feet and Grasso held her against the cage. Shevchenko pushed her away and landed two more jabs. She missed with a spinning back kick attempt and Grasso hopped on her back. She secured a face crank across Shevchenko’s lower jaw and Shevchenko could not break her grip. As the hold tightened, Shevchenko reluctantly tapped out.
Winner: Alexa Grasso by Submission (Face Crank) at 4:34 of round four. She improves to 16-3-0 and becomes the new UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion.
Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov vs Geoff “Handz of Steel” Neal
Round 1:
Rakhmonov threw a head kick in the opening seconds and he tied Neal up in a clinch. Neal backed away after Rakhmonov landed a knee to his body. A quick jab-cross combo landed for Neal, but Rakhmonov answered back with two right hooks. Neal threw a head kick and a one-two, and Rakhmonov fired back with a pair of quick combos. He staggered and cut Neal with a head kick that landed beside Neal’s left eye. Neal recovered and time was called to replace Rakhmonov’s mouthpiece, which had fallen out almost two minutes earlier. He backed Neal up with a combination and landed a hard jab, but Neal responded with a right-left combo just before the bell. 10-9 Rakhmonov.
Round 2:
The second round began with Rakhmonov throwing a right hook and Neal answering with a left. Rakhmonov jabbed and he appeared to hurt Neal with a knee to his ribs. Rakhmonov clinched and he threw more knees to Neal’s body. Neal circled away and he landed a counter one-two as Rakhmonov missed with an uppercut. Neal landed two hard left hooks and Rakhmonov barely flinched. He continued to attack Neal’s body with knees and then followed with a right hook. Rakhmonov threw two more body kicks and Neal scored with a four-punch combo in response. Rakhmonov kept Neal on the defensive with jabs and he landed one more knee to the body. 10-9 Rakhmonov.
Round 3:
Neal blocked one head kick, but Rakhmonov landed with a second one and Neal rocked him with a three-punch flurry in response. Rakhmonov tried to clinch and Neal landed a left hook after pushing him away. Rakhmonov held Neal against the cage and he eventually landed two knees as Neal backed away. Rakhmonov hurt Neal with a left-right combo and followed with more punches and elbows as a dazed Neal backed up to the cage. Rakhmonov took Neal’s back and he kneed him in the thigh. Seconds later, Rakhmonov locked on a standing bulldog choke and Neal hastily tapped out.
Winner: Shavkat Rakhmonov by Submission (Bulldog Choke) at 4:17 of round three. He improves to 17-0-0.
Mateusz “Gamer” Gamrot vs Jalin “The Tarantula” Turner
Round 1:
Turner struck first with a body kick and he landed a lead right hook as Gamrot threw a leg kick. Gamrot landed two more leg kicks and Turner scored with a lead right hook. Gamrot took him down and Turner sat up against the cage. He rose to his feet and broke free from the clinch with a knee and two punches. Gamrot slipped and Turner took his back, but he got too high and Gamrot escaped out the back. Gamrot took top position in Turner’s half-guard and he landed right hands as Turner got to his feet against the fence. 10-9 Gamrot.
Round 2:
Gamrot kicked at both of Turner’s legs in the second round. This continued until Turner dropped him with a right hook and he landed another right hand after Gamrot got to his feet. Turner sprawled out of a Gamrot takedown attempt and landed a kick to the body. He cut Gamrot beside his left eye with a lead right hook. Gamrot caught a leg kick and he took Turner down. Gamrot moved to a top-side crucifix and briefly landed right hands until Turner got back to half-guard. Gamrot returned to the top-side crucifix and he landed elbows to Turner’s face. Back-and-forth round. 10-9 Gamrot despite the knockdown.
Round 3:
Gamrot secured an early takedown in round three and Turner sat up against the cage. He rose to his feet and Gamrot attempted a lateral drop, which failed. He held Turner in a body lock until the fighters were separated. Turner landed a quick right-left combo and sprawled out of a Gamrot takedown attempt. Gamrot backed Turner up against the cage again and tried to take him down. With mere seconds to go, he threw Turner down and briefly landed punches from mount before Turner got back to full guard. 10-9 Gamrot.
Winner: Mateusz Gamrot by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 22-2-0, 1 NC.
Bo Nickal vs Jamie “The Nightwolf” Pickett
Round 1:
Nickal fell while throwing a head kick attempt and he tried to take Pickett down after getting back to his feet. Pickett defended well, but Nickal managed to take him down and he attempted a power guillotine choke. Pickett escaped, but Nickal moved to his back and then locked on an arm-triangle choke when Pickett turned over. Pickett continued to fight the choke until Nickal adjusted his grip and fully tightened it, and Pickett tapped out.
Winner: Bo Nickal by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 2:54 of round one. He improves to 4-0-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)