Jealous? Jon Jones says he’s chasing history, rips ‘nerd’ Israel Adesanya
Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya aren’t likely to fight soon, but their rivalry already may be the UFC’s hottest….
The hottest rivalry in the UFC is one that really isn’t that close to producing a fight, but as far as a war of words goes, Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya already have a full-fledged beef.
“I’m not out here searching for dragon ball Z fans, I’m in pursuit of these history books,” Jones tweeted Tuesday, referencing Adesanya’s love for anime. “Being mentioned with history’s greatest combatants ever. F—ing nerd.”
On Tuesday night, Adesanya tweeted back with a playful response.
Lol neeeerd #nunchuckskills #bowhuntingskills pic.twitter.com/9ljBe6uBfa
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) October 9, 2019
Jones took offense to comments Adesanya made on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, when he said Jones is jealous of Adesanya’s newfound fame. Adesanya unified the middleweight title Saturday night with a second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker and is fast becoming the face of the UFC.
“He’s trying to force my hand,” Adesanya told Helwani. “I’m not stupid. It’s not about I’m not confident; trust me, I’ll f— this m—–f—– up when I fight him. I have to do what I have to do, I have to defend my belt. I’m the new unified king. There’s three more killers, four more killers I have to f— up at middleweight first, and then I’ll move up in weight.
“… He is jealous. He sees the freshman that’s taking all the shine. It’s the new dog in the yard. … He’s always been a fan. He’s still a fan. I’ve known he’s a fan. Just wait your turn.”
Jones is the light heavyweight champ and doesn’t have his next fight scheduled.
Adesanya said he’ll make his first title defense against Paulo Costa, and he’s not expecting to jump to Jones’ division soon after that.
“I’m not going to be one of these guys who don’t defend their belt,” Adesanya said. “I’m going to defend my belt actively.”
Adesanya said last week that he could see a fight against Jones in 2021 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the future home of the Oakland Raiders. Jones responded with: “I can see you’re starting to sip your own Kool-Aid, I know how it feels, I’ve been there before. Only I was around 23. Just don’t become delusional kid, [mess] with a beast like me and I will expose you.”
If — or when — the fight does happen, and UFC president Dana White recently sounded open to the idea, it will not be lacking in trash talk.
About The Author
