Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones, who recently vacated his title to move up in weight, has been spending most of his free time pumping iron to prepare his body for the transition to heavyweight.
That’s a “stupid” idea, according to Israel Adesanya.
The reigning middleweight champion also plans to chase the 265-pound title — and one day collide with Jones — but has no interest in putting on any extra weight, because his success in mixed martial arts (MMA) is a direct result of his skills, not his size.
Sounds like Team Jones was listening.
“Jon’s skill level is so high, his fight IQ is so high, that I don’t think somebody having a 20-pound advantage over Jon is going to make that much of a difference,” coach Brandon Gibson told MMA Fighting. “He’s just such a skilled martial artist. I think the weight class intrigues Jon.”
There’s been talk of having Jones fight the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou, who rematch for the heavyweight title in March. Hopefully those negotiations don’t end as poorly as they did the first time around.
“Jon has always done very well [against heavyweights],” coach Mike Winkeljohn added. “He’s always had the ability to change up things and as far as fight IQ, Jon’s that guy. He’s very good at reading a fighter and knowing what the fighter’s going to do, sometimes before the fighter even knows himself.”
We’ll find out next summer.