Adesanya hits back at ‘bully boy’
Israel Adesanya has welcomed a ‘‘superfight’’ with Jon Jones in the future as he fired back at the UFC light-heavyweight champion.
Jones was highly critical of Adesanya’s spectacular win over Kelvin Gastelum on Sunday (NZ time) to claim the interim middleweight title, after the pair had exchanged verbal jabs in the lead up to UFC 236 in Atlanta, Georgia.
In a series of tweets that have since been deleted, Jones was left unimpressed by the Nigerianborn Kiwi’s display against ‘‘a short, stubby wrestler’’, adding that ‘‘there’s only one Jon Jones ladies and gentlemen’’.
‘‘You guys can believe the hype if you want to. I’ve seen all I had to see,’’ Jones said.
Appearing on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN, Adesanya said Jones’ time would come but the American would have to wait his turn.
‘‘Jon Jones literally reminds me of what I’ve hated most in life: bullies,’’ ‘The Last Stylebender’ said. ‘‘I don’t like bullies. I detest bullies. So he’s going to get this work. But not until I am ready to give him this work. I can fight him right now and give him work. But I want to fight him when I know I can f... him up.’’
Jones is widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in UFC history but has a hugely chequered past.
The 31-year-old has been stripped of the light-heavyweight title on three separate occasions, twice for failing anti-doping tests.
He returned from his most recent suspension last October, beating Alexander Gustafsson to reclaim the belt before a successful defence over Anthony Smith in March. He is scheduled to meet Thiago Santos at UFC 239 in July.
Adesanya, who would need to move up in weight to fight Jones, accused him of ‘‘trying to jump the gun’’, knowing the Kiwi is only 14 months into his UFC career and yet to reach his prime.
In winning the interim middleweight crown, Adesanya earned a unification bout against current champion Robert Whittaker, likely to be held later this year in Australia.
Adesanya first wants to dethrone Whittaker and conquer the rest of the division before setting his sights on Jones.
‘‘Let me just beat all the top middleweights in my division, all of the relevant ones, once, and then I’ll move up for a superfight with Jon Jones,’’ Adesanya told ESPN. ‘‘Right now, he’s the best pound-for-pound, right? I’m player one. He’s the final boss in the game. I still got some people to beat in between.’’