Israel Adesanya has claimed that he believes his longstanding “story” with fellow UFC champion, Jon Jones is far from over – noting the personal issues both men appear to have with each other.
Adesanya, a two-time and current middleweight champion, most recently headlined UFC 287 back in April of this year, reclaiming the division crown with a spectacular second round KO win over Alex Pereira.
As for Jones, the Endicott native returned to the Octagon for the first time in over three years back in March, claiming the vacant heavyweight title with a stunning opening round guillotine choke win over former interim titleholder, Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. Jones is also a former two-time undisputed light heavyweight champion to boot.
Linked with a prior light heavyweight title showdown with Jones during the former Jackson-Wink MMA staple’s second reign as champion, Adesanya instead fought Polish veteran, Jan Blachowicz for divisional spoils – suffering a unanimous decision defeat in his sole outing at the light heavyweight limit.
Israel Adesanya tipped to weigh up future fight with Jon Jones to boot
Discussing his issues with Jones, amid claims from his co-manager, Ash Belcastro that a fight between Adesanya and the former would always be on the table – the City Kickboxing staple made his feelings toward the heavyweight champion known.
“I’ve never had a conversation with this guy [Jon Jones], ever,” Israel Adesanya said during an appearance on The MMA Hour. “So, how am i going to have a friendship, or buddy-dom with someone I’ve never talked to ? We’ve beefed, I don’t like him, he doesn’t like me, but we respect each other’s skills.”
“I was a fan before I was even in the UFC; youngest UFC champion, did a lot of great things for his career,” Israel Adesanya explained. “Then he called me out and I was like, ‘The f*ck did I do to you?’, so I went back at him.”