Israel Adesanya gives unexpected compliment to Jon Jones while breaking down UFC 285 main event
Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones have traded insults for several years, and it is fair to say the two world-class martial artists are not fans of one another.
But despite the beef, both fighters have been complimentary of each other this week. Jones will be making his return to the UFC after three years off and is set to face Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 this weekend for the vacant heavyweight title.
'The Last Stylebender' broke down the entire card during a recent YouTube video and gave Jones several compliments about his fighting skills:
"Playing with the hands, that's Jones, that's his s**t. He'll elbow you from there. He'll be long range, then before you know it he's in mid-range and you won't even realize it. Then he'll just BOOM, elbow [you]... Three years away from the game is a hard ask for any man [to come back and win]. But there's a special few who can actually f**k off and come back and still look great. And I feel like Jon is one of them... Jon's got great striking as well, maybe not as pretty as Gane, but he's got great striking."
Watch the video below from 11:00:
Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones have only verbally clashed in the past, but the pair seem to have put their fighting words aside and have chosen to focus on peace instead.
'Bones' last competed at UFC 247 in February 2020 against Dominick Reyes, whom Jones defeated via unanimous decision. He then vacated the light heavyweight title in August 2020 and announced he would be moving to heavyweight.
'Bones' has taken time to build enough muscle to compete at heavyweight and reportedly weighs roughly 250 lbs.
Jon Jones believes Israel Adesanya will lose to Alex Pereira again
Israel Adesanya will take on Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in a bid to reclaim the title that was snatched from his grasp in the dying embers of round 5 of their bout last year.
Pereira has also beaten 'The Last Stylebender' twice in kickboxing prior to their MMA fight. However, the 3-0 record that 'Poatan' holds over Adesanya is not an exact representation of how competitive each fight was.
The Nigerian-born Kiwi dominated Pereira for much of their two kickboxing bouts, as well as their single MMA bout, and has clearly shown an ability to match and surpass Pereira's skillset at times.
However, Jon Jones believes Israel Adesanya will lose to Alex Pereira once again in April:
"I believe Pereira is gonna win again. There are some athletes that just have other athlete's number. [Pereira] works hard, and I'm rooting for him."
Watch the video below:
Jon Jones thinks Alex Pereira has Israel Adesanya's "number" and will beat him against in the #UFC287 rematch.
#UFC285 | Full video: bit.ly/3J4nWz7 https://t.co/pFIXHQO0aq