MMA
Jon Jones thinks fighting Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz 'does nothing' for him
If you want Jon Jones to reconsider his decision to move up to the heavyweight division, don't get your hopes up.
The former light heavyweight champion took to Twitter early Tuesday morning and responded to fans about various topics. One that struck a chord with many fans is Jones dismissing the possibility of taking on current middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya and 205-pound titlist Jan Blachowicz.
“You’re joking right?” Jones said. “I’ve been making millions since my early 20s, I don’t need a super fight with anyone. Fighting guys like Jan and Izzy does nothing for my legacy, winning the Heavyweight belt is the only thing that can bring me any higher than I already am. Facts.”
Blachowicz (27-8) won the belt vacated by Jones at UFC 253 with a second-round stoppage over Dominick Reyes. Immediately, Blachowicz called out Jones (28-1, one no contest), who didn't bite. On the same show, Adesanya (20-0) battered Paulo Costa to win by second-round TKO to further fuel the talk of him against Jones.
But UFC president Dana White said at the beginning of November that Blachowicz would be meeting Adesanya for the light heavyweight strap. Fans got excited at the notion of Jones dropping back down to the division he ruled with an iron fist for nearly a decade.
But in Jones' mind, Adesanya doesn't get him too excited to the point where he wants to face him to help define his legacy. The person who still piques Jones' interest and the reason he vacated the light heavyweight title during the summer is heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
“Outside of a gigantic payday, [Adesanya] does nothing for me,” Jones continued. “Anderson [Silva] was the man to beat in that weight class, not him. The next biggest legacy move for me is Stipe [Miocic] and I want all the smoke.”
A Jones-Miocic clash has been discussed for years with it nearly happenning at UFC 217 in December 2017. It is expected that Miocic will rematch Francis Ngannou in early 2021 but nothing has been finalized. Meanwhile, Jones currently doesn't have a fight scheduled. He last fought at UFC 247, defeating Reyes by unanimous decision.
