Moving to heavyweight will cost Jon Jones an advantage he had at LHW: Tom Aspinall 

Jon Jones is set to make his return to the UFC octagon at UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane. Jones will move up from light heavyweight for the first time in his UFC career and challenge for the vacant heavyweight championship on March 4.

Injured UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall recently gave his take on how 'Bones' will fare in his move up to the heaviest division in an interview with Jamal Niaz on his YouTube channel.

Aspinall mentioned Jones' usual reach advantage at light heavyweight being negated by the size surplus at heavyweight:

“The massive advantage that he has amongst the light heavyweights is he’s got a massive reach advantage, so he gets a lot of takedowns with like, the length of his arms and the leverage that he gets behind his takedowns. I’m not discrediting his wrestling, his wrestling is amazing. But I’m saying the leverage that he gets with his size advantage is incredible at light heavyweight. Whereas at heavyweight, it’s like an average size. Heavyweight is 6’4 I think. I don’t know if he’ll be able to get the same leverage against someone his height."

Aspinall also stated that it's impossible to pick a winner amongst the two:

“But I think as well, Gane, he’s a niche heavyweight. He’s not a standard heavyweight, like his footwork is really good. His judge of distance is really good. Really interesting fight, you want me to pick a winner? You can’t pick a winner in heavyweight MMA, in my opinion.”

Check out Aspinall's full interview on YouTube:

---

Shavkat Rakhmonov says Jon Jones can only win against Ciryl Gane on the ground

UFC welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov will fight on the same card as Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane and will take on Geoff Neal.

Rakhmonov recently sat down with Sportskeeda MMA's James Lynch for an interview, during which he responded to a question about potential ring rust affecting Jon Jones after his lengthy layoff.

Rakhmonov also shed light on the strategies both fighters will look to employ:

"I don't really know in what shape Jon Jones is in right now. He hasn't fought for such a long time. Ciryl is a great striker. The only chance for Jones is to take this fight to the ground. If it is going to be a standup fight, Ciryl Gane is going to win."

Shavkat Rakhmonov is currently ranked No.10 in the welterweight rankings and will look to make a statement against No.7-ranked Geoff Neal.

Check out Shavkat Rakhmonov's exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA on our YouTube channel: