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UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya hasn’t been impressed with Jon Jones’ last few UFC fights.
Israel Adesanya feels that it’s easy to tell from Jon Jones’ most recent UFC fights that the former light heavyweight champion is “washed up.”
Jones (26-1, 1NC) vacated his 205-pound title earlier this year after a public dispute over his pay with UFC president Dana White. The 33-year-old won controversial decisions in his last two fights against Dominick Reyes and Thiago Santos, fights in which many people think could have been scored the other way.
Talking to ESPN, Adesanya says that Jones has “recycled” his old opponents and has looked poor in his last fights.
“I’m about to do what he hasn’t done in over 10 years, which is jump up in weight,” Adesanya said (via MMA Fighting). “I didn’t go recycle all my old opponents and scrap them or find new lower-tier guys to fight. I just said, f-ck it, I’m a go up.
“So I’m gonna do what he hasn’t done in over 10 years, I’m gonna do it in just under three years. … I don’t know, it depends who his next fight is, but I’ve seen the guy live. You can look at his last five fights. Tell me he’s not washed.”
It’s been confirmed by White that Adesanya (20-0) is going to move up in weight for his next fight and challenge Blachowicz (27-8) for the light heavyweight title. “The Last Stylebender” said that ever since his 2019 Fight of the Year with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236, Jones is always making snide comments regarding his fights.
“Jon Jones, watch any fight that Jon Jones has ever had in the last year and a half,” Adesanya said. “I don’t say sh-t unless I’m asked about it. But anytime I fight he’s always saying something stupid trying to prod. It happened from the Atlanta fight, 236, since then any fight I’ve had he’s always had something to say to try and like, I don’t know if he’s stealing the spotlight, but cancel some of my shine if you will.”