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Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been involved in a bitter war of words with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya for more than a year now.
The two have had some heated, often personal, exchanges with neither taking a step back.
As a result of their exchanges, there has been speculation that Jones would end up fighting Adesanya in a so-called 'superfight' in the future to put an end to the hostility. However, Jones has put an end to this speculation, stating on Twitter that he has no desire to take on Adesanya.
Replying to a tweet from a fan, Jones made his stance clear, all the while showering praise on the recently-retired former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Jones stated: “Outside of a gigantic payday, he does nothing for me. Anderson was the man to beat in that weight class, not him. The next biggest legacy move for me is Stipe and I want all the smoke.”
When someone questioned this approach by Jones and introduced the ‘big payday’ factor to the conversation, Jones shut that topic down. “You’re joking, right?" he tweeted. "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.” This was accompanied by the hashtag 'facts'.
Incidentally, Adesanya already has a win over Silva.
The idea of a super-fight between Jon Jones and Anderson Silva was discussed on several occasions, yet the bout never materialized.
Adesanya is slated to take on UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz for the LHW title in March 2020, although the exact date and the event have to be finalized.
Revisiting Jon Jones’ Career
Jon Jones is an NJCAA All-American wrestler (2006) representing the Iowa Central Community College.
‘Bones’ would then transition into MMA at barely 21 years of age in 2008. A string of impressive wins got him a UFC contract in August 2008 with a successful debut against Andre Gusmao following thereafter.
He would amass five more wins after his debut beating names like Stephan Bonner, Ryan Bader, and Brandon Vera before getting a shot at champion Mauricio Rua. Jones' victory over Rua made him the youngest UFC champion ever.
The only blemish in his journey was a DQ loss to Matt Hamill due to a rule which has been criticized universally by experts and fans alike.
Jones would go on to defend his title on a total of eleven occasions.
While his party-animal personal got him in legal trouble on more than one occasion and he was stripped of the title and suspended on two occasions, Jones never suffered an outright loss in his career.
After beating Dominick Reyes he relinquished the LHW crown, now wanting to hunt glory at the coveted UFC Heavyweight division.
All of this accomplished before his 34th Birthday. Jon Jones is undoubtedly a future UFC Hall of Famer.
