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One of the biggest fights to make in combat sports today is a superfight between former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and current middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the grudge match will be booked.
With Jones recently vacating his 205-pound crown to take a crack at heavyweight and Adesanya looking to clean out the middleweight division before he does any extracurricular activities it may be hard for the two fighters to come to terms. You also have to consider that if the two stars did lock horns at 205 pounds it will no longer be for a belt, taking away from Adesanya’s opportunity to become a double champ.
Despite all of that, Jones and Adesanya have brought their feud to an entirely new level following Adesanya’s TKO win over Paulo Costa at UFC 253 (see it HERE). From Adesanya claiming he’s the best 205-pound fighter in the world to back-and-forth exchanges about family, the two stars have poured gallons of fuel on the fire in just the past week.
That has led to more discussions about a potential superfight between “Bones” and “Last Stylebender,” which is exactly what UFC president Dana White talked about earlier today.
“That’s the fight to make, 100 percent,” White told UFC Arabia. “I think that a fight between those two is massive.”
The fight would be massive indeed. Not only are both fighters unbeaten in their professional MMA careers, but Adesanya has the physical attributes to actually move up and match Jones’ size at 205 pounds. The middleweight champion would likely lose some of his speed if he did bulk up, but the striking skills would still be there along with some extra power.
At this point, nothing is for certain. Jones is already bulking up for his heavyweight crossover and Adesanya seems content at defending his title next against the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier. But if White is able to bring Jones and Adesanya to the negotiating table things may change quickly, even if a belt isn’t on the line.
“It doesn’t depend on what I want; it depends on what they want to do,” White said. “Adesanya is a champ. He’s really coming into his own, and you can tell he knows this is his house, and he comes and acts like it. I think he wants the winner of Whittaker and Cannonier, and then we’ll see what happens after that.”
What do you think, fight fans? Will we see Jones vs. Adesanya in 2021 or is it another superfight we’re wasting our time talking about?
Let’s hear it!