Eugene Baremen on how Jon Jones is following UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya's footsteps
It's not a longshot to say that Israel Adesanya has changed the landscape in the UFC. Israel Adesanya has emerged as UFC's newest big star in the last couple of years and had a quick ascent to the top of the Middleweight Champion.
Now the King of the 185-pound division, Israel Adesanya will attempt to become the fourth double-champion in UFC history when he takes on Jan Blachowicz for the Light Heavyweight Championship in early 2021.
However, his biggest rival has been Jon Jones - a man with who he's had many back-and-forths on social media. Dana White has stated that Israel Adesanya vs. Jon Jones is "the fight to make" and could go that direction should the Middleweight Champion defeat Jan Blachowicz.
One of the biggest driving forces behind Israel Adesanya's success has been his coach Eugene Baremen. Speaking to Submission Radio (H/T BJPENN.com), he spoke about how Jon Jones is now following Israel Adesanya's footsteps despite being a more established name in MMA:
“The only person that’s ever shown that pension for moving around weight divisions has been Israel,” Bareman said on Submission Radio. “And then, of course, Jon Jones, being who he is, has followed in Israel’s footsteps. Which is funny, because he’s meant to be the guy that’s already established himself there, but Israel’s got that guy dancing to the beat of whatever Israel rhythm he puts out.”
Baremen explained how Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya have two entirely different mindsets:
“Look, the two fighters you’re talking about [Jones and Adesanya], they have very different mindsets,” Bareman said, explaining why Adesanya is so open to weight class changes. “That’s the first thing that’s obvious. Jon Jones hasn’t moved up. He hasn’t done anything about … he hasn’t talked about moving up, and he hasn’t wanted to move up for a decade. Israel approaches the sport very differently to Jon Jones. Israel is a real advocate for supreme martial arts, being extremely good to the point where size and weight doesn’t matter.
Will Jon Jones move up to Heavyweight before a potential Israel Adesanya fight?
Had Jon Jones decided not to vacate the Light Heavyweight title, then the fight against Israel Adesanya may already have been booked. Jon Jones' Twitter activity directed at Israel Adesanya only amped up after he vacated his title.
The reason behind Jon Jones vacating the Light Heavyweight title was so he could move up to Heavyweight. Nothing has panned out on that front and few seem convinced of Jones' intention to fight in another division.
Only time will tell, but it wouldn't be surprising to see UFC quickly jump to book Jon Jones vs. Israel Adesanya should the latter become the Light Heavyweight Champion in 2021.