Current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is not shutting the door on a future matchup with former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones just yet.
Adesanya spoke with Ariel Helwani on the re-launch episode of The MMA Hour and talked about his rival, saying he doubts Jones will ever move up to heavyweight despite his intentions to do so in 2022. He also still believes that a potential bout with the former UFC light heavyweight king is still in the cards and believes the two have an unfinished story to tell.
“The story’s not told yet, Ariel,” Adesanya said (h/t MMAFighting). “The story’s still out there. I don’t think we’re ever going to see Jon Jones fight at heavyweight. F*ck, he’s been saying this since 2013. You either get it done or you don’t. For me, I jumped up [a division] within three years of [being with] the company. “I jumped into the division ahead of me. The guys up there respect me — even the champion up there gave me my props. So yeah, I just think it’s not something that anyone can do. And he’s getting fat for no reason now. I see it. I see it 100 percent. But that’s the thing. You’ve got to know when to hold them, you’ve got to know when to fold them, and the song is not over yet. So stay tuned. We’ll fight one day. I don’t know where or how it’s going to happen. I just have an idea of what’s going to happen. But yeah, see if he moves up in weight first. See if he moves up in weight first and deals with these guys there. I think he can, but does he think he can?”
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