Is Jon Jones over Israel Adesanya?
The back and forth between Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones on the run up to #UFC236 seemed to almost eclipse media week. However, has this taken a backseat as of late?
It all started with Jon Jones finding offence at Stylebender's evaluation of his Anderson Silva victory. Now, the latest chapter sees the pair in dispute following Jones' criticisms of Israel's performance against Kelvin Gastelum. There is no doubt 'Bones' sees the potential pay-per-view figures in a fight with the newly crowned interim Middleweight champion, but Israel has not faded from the idea. This could be a possibility on the horizon as Dana himself has said the proposal excites him.
In a recent interview on Ariel Helwani's MMA show, Adesanya is quoted saying that ''he literally just reminds me of what I've hated most of my life, and that's bullies.'' This was followed by 'The last Stylebender' believing that Jones is pushing for the fight in order to derail the hype before Israel gains too much momentum and experience, ''He's picking the right time.''
For the meantime, MMA fans have enough entertainment with Jon Jones scheduled to defend the LHW belt against Thiago Santos at UFC 239. Israel Adesanya has no short feat ahead of himself either, with the next bout planning to take place in an Austrailian stadium, according to Dana White, versus a certain Robert Whittaker. This bout will see the unification of the Middleweight title and in the case of a victory for the pair, set up nicely for a Champion vs Champion matchup.