Israel Adesanya is scheduled to face Paulo Costa on September 26th at UFC 253 but he’s still got Jon Jones in his sights. Even despite Jones’ move to heavyweight, Adesanya is still hoping to face him.
“I still have that in mind, it’s still part of my plan,” Adesanya said to MMA Junkie at the UFC 253 virtual media scrum.
“But let me ask you this, how many years has Jon Jones been in the UFC? And he only just moved up in weight, right?” Adesanya continued to ask. He would then continue to say his plan is to create a legacy by defending his title before moving up in weight to possibly face Jones.
“So why would he or anyone else expect me to move up in weight when I just got the belt rather than defend my belt like he has and create a legacy before jumping up in weight? So I’m sticking to my plan. I’m never going to let anyone make me fold or make me make a move ahead of schedule. I’m sticking to my plan.”
Adesanya also spoke about defending his title before moving up to face Jones on Submission Radio last month.
“Since when? It’s never been an issue for me. I’ve been a heavyweight in boxing, in kickboxing. I’ll do it again in MMA. So, it’s never been an issue for me.”
“He can try and run to heavyweight, but I’ll chase him down. I’ll hunt him down if I have to.”
