Jon Jones And Israel Adesanya Both Name Toughest Opponents To Date Ahead Of Potential UFC Mega-Fight

Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones have both revealed the toughest opponents in their MMA careers amid speculation linking them to a UFC mega-fight.

UFC legend Jones, 33, is preparing to make his long-awaited climb to heavyweight after relinquishing the light heavyweight title in August.

But 'Bones' and Adesanya have continued to trade blows on social media, with UFC president Dana White even admitting that he wants the fight to happen.

Speaking ahead of his UFC 236 interim title fight, Adesanya dismissed the idea that then-opponent Kelvin Gastelum would be his hardest fight.

The 31-year-old middleweight champ, who defeated Gastelum in 2019, said his toughest opponent was MMA legend Anderson Silva at UFC 234.

The 'Last Stylebender' told EMG Access: "No, it's not the hardest fight of my MMA career so far.

"I'd give that to the Silva fight. I think more mentally challenging. It was physically challenging as well, but more mentally challenging in the sense that I had to beat myself."

The undefeated Adesanya has since beaten Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa, with the latter being his most recent victory at UFC 253 in September.

Meanwhile, Jones dominated the light heavyweight division and even clashed with fellow UFC legend Daniel Cormier twice during a heated rivalry.

But the MMA legend snubbed Cormier as he insisted that Alexander Gustafsson was his toughest opponent in his glittering career.

"Daniel Cormier is not my toughest opponent, I'd say Alexander Gustafsson was my toughest opponent," Jones said.

"He's not this rival that the world wants him to be to me. He's a guy that I've beat twice."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Jon Jones, UFC News, MMA News, Last Stylebender, UFC, MMA, Israel Adesanya

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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