Ciryl Gane reacts after being submitted by Jon Jones at UFC 285: “I’m angry with myself”

Ciryl Gane has spoken out after being submitted by Jon Jones in the first round of their UFC 285 main event. The bout was contested for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship. Not only was this Jones’ first pro MMA bout since February 2020, but it was also his heavyweight debut.

It only took Jones a little over two minutes to submit Gane via guillotine choke. While Jones was the betting favorite going into his title fight with Gane, few expected “Bones” to make it look so easy given that he hadn’t been able to secure a finish since late 2018. Even Gane stared at Jones in disbelief once the fight was over.

During the UFC 285 post-fight press conference, Gane admitted that he’s frustrated by how things played out (h/t MMAJunkie.com).

“I’m disappointed, of course,” Gane said. “The biggest feeling is really angry about myself. (I’m) really angry because, yes, we accepted this fight. It was not a short notice, but the time was not too longer. But man, we worked a lot. We worked a lot and we spent a lot of time with my team, with my sparring partners. I’m really angry at myself because I spent a lot of time with my partners and my coaches and my family. It didn’t have a good (reflection) during the fight. I’m really angry.”

This is the second loss of Gane’s pro MMA career, but he said this one stings far worse than the defeat against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou.

“When I think about the loss against Francis, it was not a big loss for me. I learned, but it was not too big. But this one is so painful. This one is a real loss.”

Gane said he’s going back to the drawing board. He plans on hitting the gym and working on the holes in his game as soon as possible.