"To face someone of this caliber, it's not common, that's for sure," Ciryl Gane told AFP on Thursday, a few days after leaving for Las Vegas.
At 35, Jon Jones is seen as an MMA legend.
Undefeated since 2009, he dominated the UFC's light heavyweight division for years and challenged himself to move up the ranks.
"In terms of the stakes, this is the biggest fight of my career. One, because it's for the belt, but also because it's against a person who has done a lot in MMA. So it's undoubtedly the biggest fight of my career and I also think for French MMA," he said.
Beaten for the title in January 2022 by Francis Ngannou, Gane has long hoped for a revenge against the Cameroonian but the latter left the UFC last January, leaving the world title vacant.
"It's just a shame for the fans because they wanted to see this fight again which was very tight (...) But what interests me is what is between the belt and me, whether it's Francis or someone else, it doesn't matter," Gane explained.
The Frenchman, who had fractured his left hand during his last fight - his victory by KO in Paris against the Australian Tai Tuivasa - was reassuring about the state of his hand.
"The hand is fine, I let it rest well, even longer than necessary. And when I started tapping on it again, I had no problem," he said.
© 2023 AFP