UFC 285 Sets New Record For Gate Revenue Involving Heavyweights

As soon as the UFC announced that former light heavyweight king Jon Jones will be making his return to the Octagon for the first time in three years at UFC 285, it was expected that fans will be lining up to see the arguable Greatest of All Time (GOAT) take the vacant heavyweight title against Cyril Gane.

Such notions were proven correct as data acquired by the International Business Times confirm that the 19,471 attendees at the sold-out T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada generated $12.15 million for the UFC–the highest gate ever for a heavyweight main event.

It certainly was an event to watch as "Bones" made quick work of No. 1-ranked heavyweight Gane, needing only two minutes to claim the UFC heavyweight title as he pulled off a guillotine choke submission.

What makes this result so interesting in the eyes of many is that the fight-ending sequence was seemingly predicted and demonstrated perfectly by former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo about a week before the bout happened.

Most mixed martial arts (MMA) fans would remember Jones for his extremely lethal striking, but many may have forgotten that he was a stand-out wrestler during his high school years and it showed against Gane.

As Jones slipped a punch from the Frenchman, he was able to land a big takedown on the natural heavyweight and a few moments later, Jones followed Cejudo's advice and was able to sink in the guillotine choke.

"I'm very grateful. Without my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I would've never made it this far. I just want to acknowledge Him in everything that I am, everything that I do. I want to thank everybody out there who prayed for me. I felt their energy and I'm very grateful," Jones said in the post-fight press conference.

"This fight means a lot. I'm humbled by it and it just goes to show that no matter what happens in life, if you just continue to strive, put one foot in front of the other, the sky's the limit and this world really can be your oyster."

UFC 285's $12.15 million also became the fourth-biggest gate in the company's history, behind the monster that was UFC 205 headlined by Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor on November 12, 2016 ($17.7 million), McGregor versus Khabib Nurmagomedov on October 6, 2018 ($17.2 million) and McGregor's trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier in July 2021 ($15.7 million).

Georges St-Pierre defending his welterweight title against Jake Shields at UFC 129 on April 30, 2011 has been bumped down to fifth ($12 million) and Alex Pereira knocking out Israel Adesnaya at UFC 281 for the middleweight strap on November 13, 2022 is now sixth ($11.5 million) in terms of gate revenue.