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Israel Adesanya Breaks Silence Over Jon Jones Climbing Up To Heavyweight After Vacating Title

Israel Adesanya Breaks Silence Over Jon Jones Climbing Up To Heavyweight After Vacating Title

UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya explained why he didn’t make an early climb up to light heavyweight to face MMA legend Jon Jones.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

UFC star Israel Adesanya has admitted that it is about time Jon Jones moved up to heavyweight and is keen to face his rival in that division down the line.

Jones, 33, on Monday announced that his dominance over the UFC light heavyweight division had come to an end after vacating the championship.

And the UFC legend has revealed that talks over his climb to heavyweight have been positive amid speculation linking him to mega-fights with Francis Ngannou and Stipe Miocic.

Adesanya and Jones have pulled no punches towards one another as they have frequently traded blows on social media.

Speaking on a UFC 253 conference call, the 31-year-old UFC middleweight champ explained why he didn't climb up earlier to face Jones at light heavyweight.

"Look how long it took him to move up to heavyweight," Adesanya said.

"Finally. He was expecting me to do it straight away, but I hadn't defended my belt yet.

"I've defended my belt twice now, I'm going to defend it a few more times and then do what I set out to do. But, yeah, the pot calling the kettle black on his part.

"Go put some [expletive] muscle on your chopstick legs and go [expletive] fight Francis Ngannou and watch him break you. I hope he doesn't, though. Maybe he does. Who knows?"

Adesanya, who successfully defended his championship against Yoel Romero at UFC 248 in March, has insisted that he still plans to climb up to heavyweight someday.

PA

PA

And the 'Last Stylebender' would be ready to fight Jones in a UFC super-fight at heavyweight if that opportunity came about.

"One hundred per cent. It doesn't change my plans," Adesanya admitted.

"My plan is still going forward as planned. So, yeah, same thing."

Adesanya will put his championship on the line against Paulo Costa at UFC 253 on 26th September.

Featured Image Credit: PA

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