UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya still has interest in fighting Jon Jones some day.
Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) and Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC), the former UFC light heavyweight champ, have traded barbs in the past but now are on different career trajectories.
Jones is currently gearing up for his heavyweight debut, while Adesanya is fresh off another 185-pound title defense against Robert Whittaker last month at UFC 271. “The Last Stylebender” doesn’t see a fight with Jones as a necessity, but it’s a challenge he’d like at some point in his career.
“I don’t need it, but I do want it,” Adesanya told TMZ. “I don’t need it, though, that’s the thing. People think I need that for my legacy. Nah, I’m good where I’m at.”
He continued, “I like light heavyweight. That’s where he was dominant, so I really want it to be at light heavyweight.”
Although Jones shut down the idea of a potential super fight after Adesanya fell short in his bid to capture the light heavyweight title from Jan Blachowicz last year, Adesanya wants to remind everyone that it was Jones who started this feud.
“He put my name in his mouth first,” Adesanya said. “He was a fan and then he realized there’s an opportunity there. You’re supposed to be the GOAT, and you want to fight me? That shows me you think I’m a threat. …
“F*ck this c*nt. But hey, he needs to find himself first. Fight his demons, that’s the main thing he needs to be fighting. Go back to church. Philippians 3:16 (4:13) or whatever it was. Go back to church.”
Jones was arrested last September after an alleged domestic violence incident at a Las Vegas hotel but later copped a plea deal with prosecutors. It’s unclear when he’ll make his heavyweight debut in the UFC.
UFC champ Israel Adesanya: I still want Jon Jones fight, but ‘I don’t need it’ for my legacy
