UFC 285 is around the corner, and fans are gearing up for the return of Jon Jones to the octagon. He will be returning after three years in the ring for the vacant UFC heavyweight title on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Jones will take on Ciryl Gane. To build momentum for the fight, UFC released a countdown video featuring the best athletes, including Lionel Messi.

The main event of UFC 285 will be the fight between Jones and Gane on Sunday. Moreover, Joe Rogan will debut in the commentary box in 2023 for the highly anticipated return of Jones. However, the video released by UFC has caught the eyes of many fans, including soccer fans.

Lionel Messi features in the UFC 285 countdown video

Lionel Messi features alongside many great athletes in the video. The countdown video features NBA great Michael Jordan, boxing legend Muhammad Ali, NFL legend Tom Brady and swimming great Michael Phelps. Messi features with the recently won FIFA World Cup trophy in the video with his Argentine teammates.

Jones will return to the octagon after three years. He last defeated Dominic Reyes in his final lightweight title defense at UFC-247 in February 2020. ‘Bones’ will compete with Gane in the main event for the vacated heavyweight title by Francis Ngannou. UFC first wanted to have Jones vs Ngannou but didn’t succeed and roped in Gane to take on Jones.

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Gane will be looking for the first heavyweight title of his career. His first professional defeat came at the hands of Ngannou. jones has started building momentum for the fight and has taken a jibe at the so-called technical boxer Gane in his recent social media post. Mind games are part of the fights, and both fighters know it. It will be interesting to see whether Gane wins his first title or Jones make a successful return after three years.

Messi wins FIFA The Best award

UFC released the countdown video ahead of FIFA The Best ceremony in Paris. Lionel Messi won the Best Men’s Player award as anticipated. He finished ahead of his PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid forward and Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema.

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It was all about Argentina in the men’s award as Lionel Scaloni won Best Men’s Coach award and Emiliano Martinez won the Men’s Best Goalkeeper award. In addition to the award, the former Barcelona forward also made it to the FIFPRO World XI. 

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Are you excited about the UFC 285? Who, in your opinion, will come out on the top in the main event?