Jon Jones is “proud” of the way Yoel Romero fought Israel Adesanya.
Earlier this month, Romero challenged Adesanya for the UFC middleweight championship. The five-round title bout headlined UFC 248. Fight fans were left disappointed by the bout due to a lack of action. Adesanya successfully retained his 185-pound gold via unanimous decision.
Jones Offers Praise For Romero Following UFC 248
Jones and Romero have trained together in the past and remain chummy. The UFC light heavyweight champion took to social media to comment on Romero’s loss. Peep the screenshot below courtesy of Fight Library.
“Bro you are a few years into stand up fighting and you stood with him for 25 minutes straight. I thought you represented yourself and your team very well. Would’ve loved to seen you be more versatile, using your wrestling and grappling, that would’ve made the difference. You fought him where he was best that and was so close. Proud of you.”
Romero received his title shot against Adesanya despite dropping two in a row going into the matchup. The UFC initially planned to book Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa but Costa had to recover after undergoing surgery. At the age of 42, many believe UFC 248 was Romero’s last chance at UFC gold.
Jones and Adesanya have developed a beef for almost a year. It all started when Adesanya said he wouldn’t mind “hunting another GOAT” in Jones after defeating Anderson Silva. Jones dared Adesanya to “come f*ck with the king of the jungle.”
Time will tell if Jones and Adesanya ever share the Octagon but for now, they’re champions in different weight classes. Many expect Jones to put his light heavyweight gold up for grabs against either Dominick Reyes in a rematch or Jan Blachowicz. As for Adesanya, he’s likely to put his middleweight title on the line against Costa.
