'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
UFC president Dana White revealed last week that middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will next be targeting the light heavyweight title formerly held by Jon Jones.
Ever since the announcement, the MMA world has been in a speculative state, trying to figure out what that would mean for the title contenders of both divisions.
Israel Adesanya moving to the 205-lbs division might finally pave way for his heated rivalry with Jon Jones to come to fruition in the form of a super-fight.
Jon Jones' coach opens up on the potential Israel Adesanya fight
Jon Jones vacated his light heavyweight title earlier this year in order to pursue a move up to heavyweight. The belt was picked up at UFC 253 by Jan Blachowicz, whom Israel Adesanya is supposed to face in the near future.
Jon Jones' coach Mike Winkeljohn made it clear that the 33-year-old will be changing plans for no one.
Speaking to Submission Radio, his coach said that if Jones does fight Adesanya next year, it will have to be at heavyweight, as 'Bones' does not need to chase anyone to prove himself anymore - others need to come after him.
"My first thought is heavyweight. Have Israel come up to heavyweight. Here’s the deal, Jon Jones has always fought a who’s who, and it’s always been this guy, you have to go beat this guy to secure your legacy. And then he beats him. And then it’s, okay, you have to beat this guy to secure your legacy. And then he beats him. Jon doesn’t need to chase anybody, they need to chase him. That’s the way I look at it. That’s why he’s the best."
Winkeljohn explained that Jon Jones has made up his mind about getting to heavyweight, and once he has put on the body mass, he has no reason to cut back down to 205 pounds just to fight Israel Adesanya.
"(So), probably heavyweight. Jon’s current mindset is to get to heavyweight. That makes sense. Once he puts all that mass on, there’s no reason to come back down. What’s the purpose of that? Go back down to chase Izzy? Absolutely not. Jon’s the man, that’s why he’s the greatest, and people need to chase him, and he’s a leader, he’s the leader of the sport."
The Jon Jones-Israel Adesanya rivalry
The feud between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya goes back a long way and is well documented on the internet in the form of tweets and counter-tweets. They did not even leave each other's parents out of it.
Given their history, fans are certainly expecting Jon Jones to change his mind about moving to heavyweight and come back to his old division tempted by the idea of fighting his long-time nemesis.
Israel Adesanya has already said that he is going to fight Jon Jones next year, and will move up to heavyweight if that's what it takes.
The UFC and Dana White will only be too happy to book the matchup, since it is likely to be the "biggest fight in UFC history", as Israel Adesanya puts it.
