Israel Adesanya became embroiled in a heated verbal exchange with a fan after he made a disrespectful comment about Jon Jones.
Adesanya, 35, is currently on a three-fight losing streak in the UFC, with his most recent loss coming against Nassourdine Imavov back in February.
Recently, he has been fairly vocal about Jones’ retirement and even put forward an interesting theory after news of the now-former heavyweight champion’s retirement emerged two weeks ago.
“I think he'll come back," Adesanya said on the Ariel Helwani Show last week.
Advert
"It's the drama of it. Someone was telling me about the tweets. I had a look and I was like, 'He's coming back.'
"What do the kids call it, rage-baiting? It's working.
"And again, I don't agree with the fact of holding up the division. Tom defended the belt, that's a defence on his book. Let the division keep moving."
Advert
And although the New Zealander has not always been complimentary of Jones, he leapt to his defence after a fan made a disrespectful comment
A video emerged online in which a fan asks Adesanya to say “f*** Jon Jones”.
The fighter then replied: “He’s going through a hard time right now.”
The fan answered: “So he beat his wife because of that?”
Advert
Izzy: “No, we all do dumb sh*t. No-one is perfect.”
Jon Jones legal case and Dana White lie accusations
Following Jones' retirement it emerged that American had been allegedly involved in a car accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Advert
It emerged that charges were filed against the 37-year-old, as the Albuquerque Journal reported that Jones is facing a criminal summons over a misdemeanour charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
Jones was charged on June 17 and is due back in court for a bond arraignment on July 24, although, as per MMA Fighting, the date of the alleged incident is actually listed as February 24.
And following UFC 317 last weekend, Dana White refuted claims that Jones had been retired for months before the official announcement.
“I was told 1,000 times to just reconsider and just give it more time. That’s the truth,” Jones said via X on June 27. “If the fight [against Tom Aspinall] was done, trust me, I would be fighting. Did we start negotiating at one point yes, but [it] was never done. My job at the time was to sit back and be quiet about it and that’s exactly what I did. I was enjoying my life that should’ve been obvious to you guys.”
Advert
"That’s not true," White told reporters following UFC 317.
"I’m telling you the truth. Believe who you want to believe."
Topics: Israel Adesanya, Jon Jones, UFC, MMA, Dana White
Luke Davies