Israel Adesanya's next UFC bout hinted, Daniel Dubois wants Jake Paul fight, Jon Jones reacts to P4P rankings: MMA News Roundup
Israel Adesanya's next UFC fight is hinted by his sponsor, Daniel Dubois' manager talks potential Jake Paul fight, and Jon Jones reacts to the latest P4P rankings update.
Find out more details in today's (Nov. 20) Sportskeeda daily news roundup.
#3. Israel Adesanya's UFC return hinted by his longtime sponsor
Israel Adesanya's longtime sponsor, Engage, has hinted that the former UFC middleweight champion is gearing up for his return.
Engage Ind. is a combat sports clothing and equipment brand that works with a host of fighters from the Oceania region. They have been partnered with Adesanya for a majority of his fighting career and recently took to social media to suggest 'The Last Stylebender' will be returning to action soon:
"Riyadh Season @stylebender"
Whilst no opponent has been confirmed, rumors have been circulating since October that Adesanya could face 185-pound contender Nassourdine Imavov. The Nigerian-New Zealander previously shared a cryptic post about his return to MMA, which showed him watching one of Imavov's fights.
#2. Daniel Dubois' manager talks potential Jake Paul fight
Following Jake Paul's boxing victory over Mike Tyson last week, Daniel Dubois surpisingly offered 'The Problem Child' the chance to face him for his IBF heavyweight title after messaging him on social media.
Paul shared a screenshot of the message online but in his response stated that Dubois would have to join the queue of people wanting to fight him. Dubois' manager, Frank Warren, has since weighed in while speaking to BoxNation about the potential fight.
Warren said he'd happily sanction the bout but doesn't believe Jake Paul would ever accept:
"No one can offer any fights on behalf of Daniel except me and Queensberry [Promotions], that's [point] number one. Number two, would we do that fight? In a heartbeat. Would Jake do it? No, I don't think [so]. He'd certainly not be ready to fight Daniel Dubois. But, it is what it is... Daniel's next fight will be sorted very soon."
Check out Warren's comments here (11:40):
#1. Jon Jones reacts to P4P rankings update
Jon Jones recently shared his reaction to the UFC's latest pound-for-pound rankings update following his win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.
The change in the rankings has seen Islam Makhachev keep his No.1 spot, with Jon Jones now at No. 2 and Alex Pereira sitting in third. Dana White has since been critical of the update and has urged Mark Zuckerberg to fix the rankings using A.I.
'Bones', however, doesn't seem concerned about his spot in the rankings and took to X to provide his response. The 37-year-old said he's happy with his place in the list, especially considering his age:
"Being ranked number 2 pound per pound at 37 years old, I'm happy with that. ☀️"