Chael Sonnen claims Ciryl Gane was ‘scared to death’ in UFC 285 headliner with Jon Jones

Chael Sonnen claims Ciryl Gane was scared in his UFC 285 title fight with Jon Jones.

On Saturday, Jones transitioned to heavyweight after a three-year layoff to challenge Ciryl Gane for the UFC vacant heavyweight title. Fans witnessed the opposite in what many believed would be a closely contested matchup. Jones submitted Gane in the opening round relatively easily and cemented his legacy as the greatest mixed martial artist on the planet.

With the lack of urgency, Gane showed to escape Jones’ submission threat. The Frenchman has faced some criticism from analysts, including Sonnen. Sonnen, who once faced Jones in the past, addressed Gane’s lackluster performance and believed he was scared.

Chael Sonnen weighs in on Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane at UFC 285

“Ciryl Gane was scared to death,” he said. “The way that Ciryl Gane ran from Jon, dropped my jaw and I’m not the biggest believer in Ciryl Gane, I don’t want to be a jerk to Gane, or ever kick a guy when he’s down, I’ve been in his exact spot.”

Gane entered the UFC in 2019 and quickly established himself in the division, going (7-0 UFC). The undefeated streak came to an end when faced with his first professional loss to Francis Ngannou for the UFC heavyweight championship. Despite being known for his high-level striking, and not his grappling, Sonnen is now questioning his chosen art in kickboxing.

“Ciryl was not the first choice for his match, Ngannou was, Ciryl was not the second choice, Stipe was, so we went with our third choice. Understanding that, I still didn’t know that Ciryl was scared. Ciryl is allegedly, I’ve never seen it with my own eyes, but I’ve been told a professional kickboxer I’ve never seen him do it with my own eyes,” he said. “So Ciryl is a striker and we’re gonna start this damn thing in your realm, you can’t be scared, just can’t be.”

Quotes via Middle Easy

Now, having left Gane in the rear-view mirror, Jones has already targeted his first title defence against Stipe Miocic. The bout is most likely going to take place this Summer, with rumours circulating the date being July 8 as the headliner for UFC 290 in Las Vegas for International Fight Week.

Do you agree with Chael Sonnen and his comments about Ciryl Gane’s performance?