UFC president Dana White likes the idea of Jon Jones vs. Israel Adesanya.
This Saturday night (Oct. 5), Adesanya will collide with Robert Whittaker for the undisputed UFC middleweight championship. Whittaker is the UFC 185-pound champion, while Adesanya holds interim gold. Their title bout will headline UFC 243 inside Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
If Adesanya Wins At UFC 243, White Likes Jones Fight
Sky Sport New Zealand was able to get in touch with White ahead of UFC 243. The UFC boss said he likes the idea of Adesanya vs. Jones if “The Last Stylebender” can defeat Whittaker (via MMAJunkie.com).
“Those guys have been talking smack back and forth,” White said. “If Israel wins and he really does want to fight Jon Jones, that’s a really big fight.”
Adesanya and Jones haven’t been shy in expressing their dislike for one another. Back in July, Adesanya told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that Jones looked old in his UFC 239 bout against Thiago Santos.
“When you see someone fight live, something happens with the filter of the TV. Either makes me shorter or whatever. But when you see someone fight live, they look faster or they look slower. And homeboy, that’s just not it. He didn’t have it. Yeah my first time ever seeing him in real life. That’s not it. He was fighting a former welterweight and his last fight was against a former middleweight. Again, meh. And he keeps having the same excuses. Meh, meh.
“There’s nothing to write home about. Jon Jones, one thing is he’s been in this game a long time. He’s been in the UFC a long time. He’s getting old. I’m fresh, I’ve only been here just over a year. I’m the new kid, the new dog in the yard. I’m a sophomore, freshman. He’s the senior and that’s why he’s a little bit jealous.”
In a series of tweets, Jones fired back at “The Last Stylebender.”
“You said you saw me fight in person against Thiago and I didn’t look the same. I also got to see you fight KG, didn’t need to be in person. You were almost knocked out on more than one occasion.
“Thiago couldn’t even touch my face and he grew up kickboxing. You only got to see my striking that night and now you’re convinced you’ll beat me? Let me see you in a wrestling match or a [jiu-jitsu] tournament, you probably wouldn’t even place.”
