UFC 285 Wrap: Jones makes GOAT statement in stunning first-round win after Grasso’s ‘crazy’ title upset

Jon Jones has been viewed as pound for pound the best fighter in the world for many years. But his return at UFC 285 presented a fresh challenge – and with it, plenty of questions.

The American had not stepped into the ring for three years and was making the step-up in weight against one of the division's fiercest finishers.

Jones though flipped the script on Ciryl Gane, scoring a submission victory within two minutes to become undisputed heavyweight champion and re-establish his standing as the greatest of all time.

There was controversy before Jones had even walked into the octagon, with the former two-time UFC light heavyweight champion forced to partially remove tape on his left foot.

The fight then came to an early stop within seconds of it starting after Gane was pulled up for a low kick on Jones.

Jones then ducked a punch and scored an immediate takedown, dragging Gane to the ground and getting on top before locking in a guillotine choke to end the fight in just two minutes.

“Jones said all week he felt this was a glaring mismatch and backed up all those words with action,” Jon Anik said in commentary.

“It did not take him long.”

“Nobody has done that to Ciryl Gane before,” added Joe Rogan.

“He took no punishment other than a kick to the nuts and he absolutely dominated him.”

Speaking after the fight, Jones said he had “strong conviction” that he would be able to dominate the bout if he was able to get it to the ground.

Jones also called out Stipe Miocic, the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, who Dana White said earlier in the week would get the next shot at the winner of Sunday’s fight.

“He’s absolutely the next one,” White said of Miocic.

“So, whoever wins will face Stipe next.”

That it turns out will be Jones. But for now, the American will celebrate having made a statement against one of the division’s most fearless fighters — and without breaking a sweat.

Grasso 'shocks the world' in 'crazy' title upset

Valentina Shevchenko’s nine-fight UFC winning streak at women’s flyweight was the longest active streak in the division. But no more.

Alexa Grasso made history on Sunday, becoming the first female Mexican-born UFC champion and taking out the division’s most dominant fighter to date.

“This moment feels like I’m dreaming... I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long,” Grasso said post-fight.

Grasso made a statement early in the fight with a few brutal punches that troubled the champion but ended up taking out the title by submission, getting a rear-naked choke in the fourth round.

“Grasso has shocked the world,” Jon Anik said in commentary.

“Alexa Grasso has stopped the reign.”

Speaking after the upset, Grasso revealed that it was no fluke and that she had actually been training to get back takes off the champion’s spinning kicks.

“Yeah I trained that, because I know she hits hard and she’s a great athlete,” Grasso said.

“I trained it so hard, like never before in my life.”

Grasso clipped Shevchenko with a right hand early and was troubling the champion with her speed and ability to cover plenty of distance.

The challenger had the bigger moments in the first round, with a three-punch combination in particular wobbling Shevchenko.

“She’s stunned, she’s wobbling... she hurt her with that left hand,” Daniel Cormier said.

“Grasso landing some power shots early,” added Anik.

Grasso then later went for the takedown and almost scored it, still capitalising on the position to land some more punches and knees to close the round.

Shevchenko responded to that early adversity by easily securing a takedown to open the second round, transitioning to a crucifix but Grasso was able to later get back to her feet.

It was yet another confidence boost for Grasso after the adjustment from the champion, who clearly realised she had a serious fight on her hands.

All eyes were again on Shevchenko and how she responded after using up a lot of energy to establish that position, one which so few have escaped in the past.

Grasso continued to take it to the champion but had to be careful to not over extend her punches after Shevchenko then scored another takedown to maintain ground control.

Cormier predicted it would “settle” Grasso’s aggressive approach.

“Because when she does over-extend even a little bit she will be taken down,” he added.

Unfortunately for Grasso, it happened again midway through the third round as the champion perfectly timed her takedown after ducking and avoiding an attempted punch.

“What timing, that was beautiful,” Joe Rogan said.

There was a spot of controversy though as referee Jason Herzog made the pair stand up wanting to see some action, although Shevchenko had landed a decent shot just before.

Herzog also then missed an illegal shot from Grasso on the ground.

“I don’t like that at all,” Rogan said.

“I don’t like the stand-up. I hate it. She worked hard to get to that position... what do you expect her to do? She was landing shots.”

It mattered little as Shevchenko took down Grasso again and took her back, although the challenger escaped then and applied the guillotine.

With the round coming to a close though there was little threat for Shevchenko as the fight went to a fourth round and the champion started to regain control of the fight.

Rogan said the earlier moments Grasso had served as a “wake-up call” for the champion, who made the necessary adjustments.

But when Shevchenko went for a spinning back, Grasso knew exactly what to do having trained for that moment, jumping on the champion’s back and getting the rear-naked choke.

'Absolute killer' stuns in all-out war

Shavkat Rakhmonov said earlier in the week he sees himself as just one or two fights away from a shot at the welterweight title if he emerged victorious on Sunday.

The undefeated Rakhmonov did just that, improving his MMA record to 17-0 with a win over Geoff Neal via rear-naked choke in the third round.

There was already drama before Sunday’s fight, with Neal missing weight by four pounds and forfeiting 30 per cent of his purse as a result.

Once the pair got in the octagon though it was quick to heat up as Rakhmonov came out aggressive right away with head kick while Neal connected with a right hand.

“Geoff Neal’s boxing is as crisp as they come,” said Daniel Cormier, while Joe Rogan likened him to a “sniper” with his striking.

Neal may have come into the fight above the weight limit but he certainly seemed prepared to give Rakhmonov a serious challenge in the first round was anything to go by.

Rakhmonov even lost his mouthpiece as he traded punches with Neal in the pocket, although it took a while for referee Herb Dean to notice.

“This is very unfortunate because Rakhmonov is taking all these shots to the face,” Cormier said while Rogan called him an “absolute killer”.

Rakhmonov then hurt Neal with a brutal high leg kick to the head that cut his rival open.

A hard counter shot from Neal, who was landing at around a 60 per cent clip in the first round, briefly had Rakhmonov backing up but the bell sounded to end the round.

Neal continued to connect with some big shots in the second but Rakhmonov kept proving he was that “absolute killer” Rogan likened him to, eating them up like they were nothing.

“Neal is landing, he’s giving it and not just taking,” Cormier said.

“I just don’t feel like he’s able to keep up the activity with Rakhmonov.”

Neal’s corner told him the fight was “close” ahead of the third round, insisting Rakhmonov did not respect his power.

“This is f***ing it,” his corner said.

“He’s getting arrogant. He doesn’t think it’s going to hurt.”

Rakhmonov may have finished all of his wins but Neal’s much-improved takedown defence meant his undefeated rival could not get the fight to the ground.

In fact Neal was able to land brutal bombs in the third round, including one left hand that really hurt Rakhmonov.

But Rakhmonov answered any questions his doubters had by overcoming that adversity and landing a strong right hand that had Neal in “real bad shape” according to Rogan.

Neal was again able to bravely defend against the takedown but was later pushed to the cage and forced to tap out after a standing rear-naked choke.

Scorecard controversy as turner falls short in 'big test'

Joe Rogan described it as a “big test” for Jalin Turner, who made a statement win in his last fight against Brad Riddell, submitting the Kiwi in just 45 seconds at UFC 276.

But in a fight that was put together on short notice after Dan Hooker pulled out due to injury, Mateusz Gamrot improved his MMA record to 22-2 with a split decision win (29-28, 30-27, 28-29) over Turner.

The defeat brought an end to Turner’s five-fight win streak, although there was plenty of controversy over the 30-27 scorecard.

“That wasn’t 30-27,” wrote Belal Muhammad.

“30-27 gtfoh wow,” added Jamahal Hill.

Gamrot landed a beautiful takedown early in the first round but Turner was able to use his long frame to drag himself back towards the fence before getting to his feet.

Turner then fired back with perfect timing to force Gamrot away from the fence with a knee down the middle, followed immediately by a flurry of punches.

Gamrot may have scored the early takedown but was not able to do much with it while Turner appeared the more dangerous of the two on his feet in an even first round.

Both fighters had a few big moments midway through the second, with Turner momentarily rocking Gamrot with a big right and then going to the body.

“Jalin has got him to the ropes,” Rogan said in commentary.

Gamrot though then flipped the script with another takedown as Turner stepped into a low kick before working on top and unleashing on the American and causing serious damage.

“Huge from Gamrot, absolutely huge,” Rogan said.

“Jalin was getting the better of the standing exchanges but you have to factor in all this work on the ground, getting beat up and it looks like this round may go to Gamrot. He’s been in control for a giant chunk, a solid minute plus of the round.”

Turner’s corner told the American at that point that he was down two rounds and would need to make a statement in the third to show why he deserved such a high standing in the promotion.

Gamrot though immediately scored another takedown early in the third as Turner again backed himself to the fence but Gamrot took his wrists early to prevent the 27-year-old getting up.

Turner was able to do just that but Gamrot still maintained control for the first three minutes of the round before the referee broke the two up.

Turner then fired a strong right hand before Gamrot went for another takedown but the American was able to avoid that attempt, taking the fight to the feet again.

It left Turner with one more minute to find the finish and a potential result as he went for the flying knee in what Daniel Cormier described as a “mistake”.

“Now he’s got his hands locked,” said Cormier, who praised Gamrot’s IQ throughout the fight.

In the end time ran out for Turner, who went down in a unanimous decision defeat.

Rogan's warning as hyped debutant makes statement

Jamie Pickett declared he would “derail the hype train” earlier in the week ahead of his fight against college wrestling legend Bo Nickal, who was making his UFC debut on Sunday.

Unfortunately for Pickett though, as Rogan said in commentary, the hype is “real”.

Nickal dominated the opening round to improve his MMA record to 4-0 with an arm-triangle choke, making a statement in his UFC debut and on the pay-per-view.

“I feel at home,” Nickal said post-fight.

“I’ve been training my whole life for this. I was born, bred, and trained every day so I can come out here and dominate.

“... I’m going to get that belt, and I’m gonna be the best pound-for-pound fighter by the time my career is done.”

The 27-year-old was able get a takedown early and transitioned later to an arm triangle after initially trying to go for the rear-naked choke.

Pickett did well to hang on early but quickly found himself in serious trouble as Nickal squeezed harder and eventually got his rival to tap out.

“The hype is real,” said Rogan, although it came with a warning.

“Here is the problem with this much hype. When you have such a spectacular debut on pay-per-view, your next fights are in the deep end of the pool and with very little MMA experience.”

Nickal flashed his enormous potential in his first three MMA fights, with three first-round finishes including one win by knockout and another two by submission.

Pickett though, who had won 12 of his last 18 fights heading into Sunday’s card, admitted he did not even know who Nickal was before he was offered the bout.

He certainly knows who Nickal is now though, as does the rest of the UFC world.

McGregor delighted as 25yo irish prodigy delivers brutal finish

Rising Irish UFC star Ian Garry pulled out all the celebrations after coming back from a first round knockdown to finish Song Kenan in the third round.

The 25-year-old, who entered the fight with plenty of hype behind him, was rocked early by his rival.

However, he staged an epic comeback to dominate the second and third rounds, piecing up Kenan with a barrage of brutal strikes.

Eventually Garry overwhelmed Kenan in the third with a flurry of punches and knees, with Kenan going into a shell on the ground to signify he was done.

Garry then performed Conor McGregor’s infamous ‘Billi Strut’ before hitting the griddy to celebrate his victory.

McGregor, who met and embraced Garry before the weigh-ins on Saturday, was delighted at seeing his fellow countryman shine in the octagon.

“Ian Garry you little DAISY,” McGregor wrote on Twitter.

In his post-fight interview, Garry revealed he’s heading all the way to the top and hopes to fight on the upcoming card in Miami.

“I’m telling you now, I’m on my way to be a world champion,” Garry said.

“I’m on the way to being world champion. I’m learning, I’m growing and I’m taking everyone out on the way.

“There’s a card in Miami in five weeks. I’m healthy, I’m uninjured. Let’s find somebody and get me on that card.”

As for being knocked down in the first round, Garry wasn’t too fussed.

“I’ve said this before, my nanny can put on 4oz gloves and drop someone in the UFC,” Garry said.

Jake Gyllenhaal stuns with brutal knockout

Elsewhere, Jake Gyllenhaal stunned the UFC world for the second time in as many days with a brutal ‘knockout’ win on the UFC 285 undercard.

The Hollywood actor turned heads on Saturday when he appeared at the weigh in, where he was filming a scene for the remake of the cult classic film Road House.

Gyllenhaal, who plays Elwood Dalton, left fans stunned as the Hollywood star weighed in for the fictional middleweight title bout against champion Jax Harris, cutting an absolutely shredded figure.

And the 42-year-old wowed MMA fans once again when he stepped in the octagon at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Sunday (AEDT) to film another scene.

A pumped-up Gyllenhall was seen doing a full walkout to the ring, before he proceeded to secure a vicious knockout win over his opponent.

You can read more and see the highlights here!

Full UFC 285 fight card results

MAIN CARD

Jon Jones def Ciryl Gane by submission in Round One (for vacant heavyweight title)

Alexa Grasso def Valentina Shevchenko via submission in Round Four (for women’s flyweight title)

Shavkat Rakhmonov def Geoff Neal via submission in Round Three (welterweight)

Mateusz Gamrot def Jalin Turner via split decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)

Bo Nickal def Jamie Pickett via submission in Round One

PRELIMS

Cody Garbrandt def Trevin Jones via UD (29-28 x 3)

Derek Brunson def by Dricus du Plessis via TKO in Round Two

Viviane Araujo def by Amanda Ribas via UD (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)

Julian Marquez def by Marc-Andre Barriault via TKO in Round Two

EARLY PRELIMS

Ian Garry def Song Kenan via TKO in Round Three

Cameron Saaiman def Leomana Martinez via MD (29-26, 28-27, 28-28)

Jessica Penne def by Tabatha Ricci via submission in Round Two

Da’Mon Blackshear def by Farid Basharat via UD (29-28 x 3)

Esteban Ribovics def Loik Radzhabov via UD (29-28 x 3)