Jon Jones Claims Israel Adesanya Is 'Scared' To Fight Him
And he looks to have his eyes on the Heavyweight division.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones extinguished any talk of a potential showdown between himself and UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya after claiming the latter is 'scared'.
The pair openly went back and forth on Twitter throughout 2019 and have continued to do so in 2020, with many believing that a clash between the two could be both possible and a must-see event.
But, just when we allowed ourselves to believe in the possibility of these two charismatic stars coming to blows at some point this year or maybe even next, Jones has doused the roaring flames of excitement by simply claiming that 'The Last Stylebender' is "scared. That's all it is."
Jones then went on to clarify that "when he says you’ve got to respect the game or the game will humble you, he’s talking about not fighting me now or me beating his ass cause he’s scared. When you let a fighter like me know that you’re not prepared to fight me today and you wish you had another year to prepare and all that sh*t, it lets me know your mental state. That’s all I need to know."
So, it seems clear that Jones doesn't see Adesanya as a threat right now and by palming off the excitable up-and-comer, Jones has left the door open for another new adventure which would also be something to behold.
A jump up to Heavyweight.
When asked about his plans to move up to the weight-class where Stipe Miocic reigns supreme, 'Bones' answered by stating "it’s definitely a possibility. One thing I know for sure, going up to heavyweight would inspire me on a different level, just because there would be so many elements that I’m unfamiliar with."
It seems as though Jones has his heart set on becoming a double-champ and if he can get past Dominick Reyes at UFC 247, could we see Jones leapfrog Daniel Cormier for a title shot against Miocic in 2020?