Israel Adesanya weighs in on the possibility of fighting Jon Jones down the line
With Jon Jones' impending move to the UFC heavyweight division, a potential dream match between 'Bones' and Israel Adesanya seems destined to remain in the realm of dreams.
But that's not how the UFC middleweight champion sees it. During the relaunch episode of The MMA Hour, Ariel Helwani told the Kiwi fighter that he doesn't believe Jones vs. Adesanya is on the table anymore. 'The Last Stylebender' replied by saying:
"That's a good opinion but the story is not told yet, Ariel. The story is still out there and man, if you can say, I don't think we're ever gonna see Jon Jones fight at heavyweight. He's been saying this since 2013. You either get it done or you don't."
According to Adesanya, it isn't guaranteed whether Jones will succeed in the heavyweight division, and as such, 'Bones' returning to light heavyweight is still a possibility. The 32-year-old UFC star added:
"I see it 100%. 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 when or how it's gonna happen, I just have an idea of what's gonna happen but let's see if he moves up a weight (class) first."
Watch Israel Adesanya weigh in on a potential matchup against Jon Jones:
Israel Adesanya says Jon Jones can't 'outrun' him
Israel Adesanya has been calling for a matchup against Jon Jones for a long time now. 'The Last Stylebender' previously sent a warning to the former longtime UFC light heavyweight champ in an interview with BT Sport.
The fighter from Auckland, New Zealand, confirmed that going after Jones is still an item on his bucket list. According to Adesanya, not even a move to heavyweight would stop him from pursuing 'Bones.'
"Of course! I mean this is already something I've talked about publically, so, yeah, of course, I told you, he can't run from me, he can run to heavyweight, but it doesn't really, yeah, he can't run from me," said Adesanya.
Watch Israel Adesanya's full interview below: