Chael Sonnen arrives at the Fighters Only World Mixed Martial Arts Awards 2011 at the Palms Casino Resort (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Fans mocked Chael Sonnen for being over a day late in announcing Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane
Jon Jones now finally has a date and opponent for his highly anticipated heavyweight debut. Jones, 35, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts and the most decorated light heavyweight champion in UFC history, is scheduled to face Ciryl Gane, a former title challenger, for the UFC heavyweight championship on March 4 at UFC 285. The news was announced by UFC president Dana White at the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight press conference on Saturday.
White stated that the news indicates that former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has relinquished his title and is now a free agent. Ngannou won his title in 2021 with a knockout of Stipe Miocic, and he successfully defended it against Gane in January 2022. Since then, he has been sidelined while rehabilitating a knee injury, but he will now seek a new home as one of the most sought-after free agents in MMA history.
Jones (26-1, 1 NC) is regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Jones, a two-time UFC light heavyweight champion, amassed 11 title defences between 2011 and 2020, defeating numerous all-time greats such as Daniel Cormier, Glover Teixeira, Maurcio Rua, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, etc.
Chael Sonnen took to Twitter to announce the news of Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane, over twenty four hours after the organization announced the news.
“Cyril Gane has been announced as Jon Jones opponent.”
Several fans reacted to Sonnen’s tweet and mocked ‘The American Gangster’:
“CHAEL, YOU’RE MY NUMBER 1 SOURCE. I IGNORE ALL OTHERS.”
“Thanks for your timely reporting Chael 🙏’
“Will you be tweeting the fight by fight highlights the Monday after? 🤣🤣🤣”
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