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Chael Sonnen believes that the super-fight between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya might either never happen or go down in the next six months.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones vacated his title last August and has been training for his debut in the heavyweight division. On the other hand, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is moving up to the light heavyweight division to challenge its current champion Jan Blachowicz.
In an episode of Beyond the Fight, Chael Sonnen revealed that many variables are at play in the Jon Jones vs. Israel Adesanya matchup.
“I don’t know that I’m ready to give up hope (regarding Jones vs. Adesanya). First things first, right, Adesanya has got to get past Blachowicz. If Blachowicz gets past Adesanya, maybe all of a sudden Blachowicz becomes a big star and now we wanna see that fight (Jon Jones vs. Jan Blachowicz). Okay, fair enough, I don’t mean to discount Blachowicz. Whoever wins that fight is going to call out Jon, and I do think that the organization will go to Jon. I know there’s a few things that have to happen. There’s a lot of moving parts, but there always is in MMA. You could argue that fight’s never going to happen. And you could equally make an argument that you’re gonna see it in six months.” (H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Sonnen noted that for that dream fight to come to fruition, Jones might have to be persuaded to return to light heavyweight. The American Gangster also pointed out that Adesanya will have to beat Blachowicz before he can fight Jones.
Israel Adesanya vs. Jan Blachowicz and Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou
Chael Sonnen emphasized that Israel Adesanya will have to beat Jan Blachowicz in their UFC light heavyweight title fight at UFC 259 in March. Sonnen believes that the UFC could then make Jon Jones a huge offer.
This could lure Jones into returning to light heavyweight for the Adesanya super-fight. Sonnen also alluded to another potential roadblock in the dream matchup, as Jones has put on muscle for his heavyweight debut and can’t cut down to light heavyweight anymore.
Furthermore, Sonnen insinuated that Francis Ngannou – who lost to Stipe Miocic in their first fight – could beat Miocic in their rematch that’s rumored to be taking place in March of this year.
In this case, the MMA world might demand a trilogy fight between Miocic and Ngannou. Jones is expected to compete for the UFC heavyweight title in his divisional debut fight. But if Ngannou beats Miocic, it’s likely that Jones could end up facing Israel Adesanya within the next few months.
