"Where does heavyweight fit into all this?" - Israel Adesanya isn't ruling out moving up to Jon Jones' weight division
Israel Adesanya has hinted at a possible move up to heavyweight later in his career. The middleweight champion will challenge Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title at this weekend's UFC 259.
Although Adesanya is one of the tallest contenders in the 185 lb weight class, he is also one of the leanest. "The Last Stylebender" does not seem to have added a lot of weight to his bout at 205 lb against Blachowicz.
Speaking to ESPN's Ariel Helwani, Israel Adesanya described his weight-cutting process for moving up a division. He also hinted at his future plans in terms of competing in different weight classes in the UFC.
"I'm planning to go back down to 185 lb after this. But also, I've got some cards that I hold close to my chest that I can't tell you right now, but over time I will unfold them.
Helwani then hinted at a possible transition to heavyweight in the future, a category which the former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has recently joined.
"Izzy" laughed and admitted that the thought passes through his mind at times. But he quickly dismissed it for now, as he doesn't want to fight Francis Ngannou.
"Ah, why did you have to say this? You've got to the fact. Yeah, where does heavyweight fit into all of this? Like I said, I want to go back down to 185 lb, but I have to see how this plays out because... yeah, the continent of Africa deserves three world champions from the UFC, it is a stronger image, it is a stronger, more powerful connection, you know what I mean? So, yeah."
The two other African fighters that Adesanya mentioned are Nigerian-American Kamaru Usman, the current UFC welterweight champion, and Cameroonian-French Ngannou. The latter could become the heavyweight champion if he beats Stipe Miocic at UFC 260.
Could Israel Adesanya fight Jon Jones?
The online feud between Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones lasted a long time before the latter finally decided to move up to compete at heavyweight.
The super-fight was at the top of combat sports fans' wishlist, and it might still happen if Israel Adesanya manages to capture the belt from Jan Blachowicz this Saturday.
Although Jones will probably also have a title shot at the heaviest weight class in the UFC this summer, it would be plausible to imagine that the two could dispute the 205 lb gold at the end of the year.