Daniel Cormier claims Jon Jones “did not punch very hard” and will “need his skill” to overcome Ciryl Gane at UFC 285

After sharing the octagon with Jon Jones several times, Daniel Cormier claims his former rival ‘did not punch very hard’.

Jones’ is set to make his heavyweight debut this Saturday at UFC 285 in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the vacant title. The man welcoming Jones to his new home is Ciryl Gane, who will compete for the heavyweight title for the second time in his career.

Cormier is intrigued to see how Jones’ power translates at heavyweight, but insinuates that the former 205lbs champion’s power wasn’t a concern when they met in 2015 and 2017. In fact, Cormier feels Jones’ will have to use the high fight IQ that’s made him one of the greatest mixed martial artists on the planet.

Daniel Cormier claims Jon Jones lacks power

“I think he’s going to have to use his skill, because I tell you this right now – Jones did not punch very hard,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “Like, that was one of the things that stood out about him. Now, he kneed hard, he kicked hard, he elbowed hard. He did a lot of things very well.

“But in terms of his punching ability, he didn’t have jarring power. Now, gaining 30 pounds, maybe he gets a bit of a heavier punch, but he will never match Ciryl Gane in terms of the punching power. He’s going to need his skill in order to do this.”

Having assessed both men’s skillsets, Cormier believes stylistically that the fight is a fifty-fifty matchup, with Gane equally matching Jones’s skills.

The power of Ciryl Gane

“Here’s the issue: Ciryl Gane possesses a lot of those same skills,” Cormier added. “He can stand on the outside and fight, he can pot shot you from the outside, and he does possess jarring power when he does land. Jon Jones always had a bit of a size advantage over a lot of the guys that he fought at 205 too. That’s going to be missing. But when you look at Jones, he looks bigger.

“But a lot of the weight is up top. His bottom half still looks pretty slim. You look at Ciryl Gane, it looks like somebody stuck an air pump in that dude’s mouth and just started pumping. He looks huge, but he only weighs about 250 pounds. He’s not heavy. He’s just lean, he’s ripped, and he’s big, and he’s strong. This is a very big challenge for Jon Jones.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

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