Jon Jones reacts to Alex Pereira’s brutal standing knockout of Israel Adesanya at UFC 281

Jon JonesFormer light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, has reacted to Alex Pereira defeating Israel Adesanya in the UFC 281 main event to become the new middleweight champion. UFC 281 delivered a truly incredible card last night at Madison Square Garden. Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler produced an all-out war that saw the former interim lightweight champion […]

Jon Jones

Former light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, has reacted to Alex Pereira defeating Israel Adesanya in the UFC 281 main event to become the new middleweight champion.

UFC 281 delivered a truly incredible card last night at Madison Square Garden. Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler produced an all-out war that saw the former interim lightweight champion emerge victorious and submit Chandler in the third round.

Weili Zhang reclaimed her throne at the top of the strawweight pyramid as she defeated Carla Esparza in the second round via submission. This was all before the highly anticipated main event where once again Alex Pereira was able to best arguably one of the greatest middleweights of all time in Israel Adesanya to become the new UFC middleweight champion.

This came as Adesanya’s second professional loss in MMA and the UFC after he was previously beaten by at the time light heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz. One main who knows about reigning supreme in the 205-pound division and fighting off all contenders is none other than Jon Jones.

Given Jones’ and Adesanya’s history it comes as no surprise that ‘Bones’ had to share his thoughts after the main event of UFC 281 concluded.

Initially, it started with one of the all-time greats accepting the praise of Khabib Nurmagomedov after the former lightweight champion made comparisons between him and Israel Adesanya.

Jones then followed up on the praise he received by passing on some of his own to the new middleweight champion, Alex Pereira.

‘It’s already yours Champ, Congratulations! Incredibly happy for you and your team. ?? ??Jones stated.

Jones then concluded his series of tweets by responding to a fan questioning why he would toy with Israel Adesanya after he suffered his defeat.

‘Now why would I go and do something like that?’ Jones said.

Although Jon Jones maybe held back on his remarks regarding Adesanya, it is not far from speculation that he enjoyed seeing the middleweight champion dethroned.

Jon Jones Calls on Stipe Miocic for UFC 282 Matchup

Having taken time away from the sport in order to begin his transition into the heavyweight division, it now appears Jon Jones is ready to step back inside the octagon and clearly has no interest in taking on an easy opponent after he called out the former heavyweight champion, Stipe Miocic.

‘I’m preparing to fight Stipe December 10 in Las Vegas. Not really sure what’s going on between Stipe and the UFC but   I’m ready to compete! I’m going to control what I can and stay in shape.’  Jones tweeted.

Following up from this Jones sent another prompt towards Miocic as he urges the former champion to put pen to paper and sign the contract.

I’m bringing all the heat @Stipemiocic, I got that fire you could never put out. Sign the contract #Ufc282’ Jones prompted.

UFC 282 is less then a month away so it seems unlikely that Jon Jones wishes shall be granted but given his readiness to compete, we should expect to see ‘Bones’ back inside of the octagon in the first quarter of 2023.

What did you make of UFC 281?

Israel Adesanya: With A Different Ref, I’d Still Be Champion

Israel Adesanya believes he was the victim of an early stoppage at UFC 281 tonight. The Nigerian-New Zealander, so dominant for so long as middleweight champ, lost via TKO to Alex Pereira in a massive upset. The highly technical battle saw Adesanya tak…

Israel Adesanya believes he was the victim of an early stoppage at UFC 281 tonight. The Nigerian-New Zealander, so dominant for so long as middleweight champ, lost via TKO to Alex Pereira in a massive upset. The highly technical battle saw Adesanya take the advantage early, almost putting Pereira away at the end of the…

Continue Reading Israel Adesanya: With A Different Ref, I’d Still Be Champion at MMA News.

UFC 281 Performance Bonus Winners

UFC 281 delivered on fan expectations as one of the best fight cards of the entire year. The event saw a promotional record of seven fights end inside the first round, and there were only three bouts that made it to the scorecards. With so many notable…

UFC 281 delivered on fan expectations as one of the best fight cards of the entire year. The event saw a promotional record of seven fights end inside the first round, and there were only three bouts that made it to the scorecards. With so many notable performances to choose from, the UFC elected to…

Continue Reading UFC 281 Performance Bonus Winners at MMA News.

Israel Adesanya on TKO stoppage defeat at UFC 281: “Bring back Steve Mazzagatti”

adesanyaIsrael Adesanya loses at 185 lbs for the first time ever at UFC 281 UFC 281 was a truly spectacular, one of a kind event that showcased 14 fights. 11 of those ended in finishes, including the final eight-straight bouts of the night. Heading into our UFC middleweight championship main event between Israel Adesanya and […]

adesanya

Israel Adesanya loses at 185 lbs for the first time ever at UFC 281

UFC 281 was a truly spectacular, one of a kind event that showcased 14 fights. 11 of those ended in finishes, including the final eight-straight bouts of the night.

Heading into our UFC middleweight championship main event between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, we’d already seen a title change hands in the strawweight division, where Weili Zhang became a two-time champion by defeating another two-time champion in Carla Esparza.

Adesanya nearly KO’d Pereira at the very end of the opening round, before ultimately losing the second. After dominating the third and fourth rounds, Adesanya was going into the fifth up 3-1. All he had to do was not get finished by a fatiguing Pereira.

But, it appears Pereira was just reserving his energy, as he came out and TKO’d Adesanya in the fifth and final round to claim the UFC middleweight championship in just his eighth professional fight, defeating the no. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the planet in the process.

This also saw him improve to 3-0 in his series against Adesanya (2-0 kickboxing, 1-0 MMA).

The former champion was asked what his emotion was like following defeat at the UFC 281 post-fight press conference:

“I’m grateful. What a life, what a moment. F*cking crazy, isn’t it? Like, similar to the last time, same story.”

Adesanya was then asked if it will be more challenging going into the rematch:

“No, I know what I can do. I mean the fight was going my (way), he hit my peroneal nerve. So that’s when my footwork was compromised. Even when I tripped and did the backwards roll, I had to do a fucking rolly polly ’cause I was like, ‘oh shit I just tripped over,’ and it’s not like me, so kudos to him for investing in those calf kicks ’cause yeah it cost me.”

Adesanya on the standing TKO stoppage: “My ego would say at least let me go out on my shield, but I don’t think I would’ve gone out ’cause I was still there. I’ve seen worse stoppages, f*cking bring back Steve Mazzagatti. Bring back Steve Mazzagatti, I would’ve been fine. He might’ve won that round but I’d still be champion.”

Ironically enough, fellow former UFC champion, fellow pound-for-pound great, and fellow Nigerian Kamaru Usman also lost his belt earlier this year via knockout in the fifth round of a fight he was winning. Adesanya stated that he doesn’t know when he’ll be back to rematch the new champion, but did make it clear he’s next in line.

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UFC 281 Octagon Interviews: Weili Zhang Belongs To The World

UFC 281 was one of the most anticipated fight cards of the year, and somehow the event still managed to surpass its own lofty expectations. Following the upset wins, huge knockouts, and wild fights, a few of the fighters chose to share some interesting…

UFC 281 was one of the most anticipated fight cards of the year, and somehow the event still managed to surpass its own lofty expectations. Following the upset wins, huge knockouts, and wild fights, a few of the fighters chose to share some interesting thoughts during their post-fight interviews. Kowalkiewicz Considered Retirement The win was…

Continue Reading UFC 281 Octagon Interviews: Weili Zhang Belongs To The World at MMA News.

Alex Pereira Proves to Be Israel Adesanya’s Kryptonite Again at UFC 281

When Alex Pereira came into New York’s Madison Square Garden for the main event of UFC 281, he did so as a bit of a novelty. He was “that kickboxing guy who…

When Alex Pereira came into New York’s Madison Square Garden for the main event of UFC 281, he did so as a bit of a novelty. He was “that kickboxing guy who…