Israel Adesanya is confident he’ll see Jon Jones down the line, no matter the weight class.
In a recent interview with BT Sport, UFC light heavyweight champion Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) said he doesn’t see himself fighting UFC middleweight champ Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the future because he will have likely moved up to heavyweight by that time.
But Adesanya says he doesn’t care about the weight class.
“I saw something on Instagram that by the time he goes to heavyweight the fight will be – who gives a (expletive) about weight?” Adesanya told “Submission Radio.” “I’ve never given a (expletive) about weight. Since when? It’s never been an issue for me. I’ve been a heavyweight in boxing, in kickboxing. I’ll do it in again in MMA. So, it’s never been an issue for me. He can try and run to heavyweight, but I’ll chase him down. I’ll hunt him down if I have to.”
Adesanya is scheduled to make his first title defense against Yoel Romero in the main event of next month’s UFC 248 and has reiterated his intentions of defending his title a few times before considering a move up.
So while he knows it’s highly unlikely that Jones would be physically able to move down to middleweight, he’s willing to move up – once he takes care of business at 185 pounds.
“Yeah, let him go to heavyweight,” Adesanya said. “Right now, I’m working at middleweight. If he wants to come, he can skip the line if he comes down to middleweight. I’ve said that already. But I’m sure he can’t do that because his frame won’t let him. So, let me do my work, shut the (expletive) up, and I’ll come see you when it’s time.”
Jones on the other hand, returns to action on Feb. 8, when he takes on undefeated Dominick Reyes in the UFC 247 headliner.
Despite both guys already scheduled to defend their titles, they’re constantly being asked about each other.
“I know that when I’m fighting, he tries to talk (expletive) about me when I’m fighting to try and take away the attention from my fight onto him, or to try like, you know, make it about him for whatever reason,” Adesanya said. “But it’s my show. Yeah, but I don’t really care. If Dom wins, good on Dom, happy for him – and I think he’s got a big problem on his hands with Dominick Reyes as well. But if Dom wins, doesn’t matter, I’m still coming for that ass.”
Israel Adesanya: 'Jon Jones can try and run to heavyweight, but I'll hunt him down'
