Former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion turned MMA analyst Daniel Cormier believes “it might be time” for a superfight between former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani earlier this week on their ESPN show, DC & Helwani, the two debated if Jones vs. Adesanya should happen next.
“DC” said, “I think it might be time. I think it might be time already.”
Although Adesanya is the 185-pound champion, Cormier looks at “The Last Stylebender” as the best light heavyweight in the world. Cormier said, “Guess what? [Adesanya] is the best 205-pounder in the world right now.”
Helwani asked Cormier if The Last Stylebender would defeat current light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz, and the former two-division champ said, “Izzy beats everybody. Izzy is the best 205-pound champion in the world right now.”
Cormier also agreed that Adesanya is the clear best middleweight, but he’s convinced that Adesanya is the best light heavyweight. He said, “Because he’s big. See how big he looked out there [at UFC 253]? He’s tall, he’s lean, he’s strong. I was watching him walk to the Octagon, Ariel, and I tweeted ‘He’s made the jump. He’s made the leap.’ You watch athletes and you can tell when they’ve made the leap from this guy’s good to this guy’s a star. You can tell this guy’s a star.”
Daniel Cormier believes @stylebender could be “the best light heavyweight in the world right now” and “it might be time already” for Adesanya vs. Jon Jones 👀
(via @dc_mma)
Adesanya Defended His Belt on Saturday & Jones Is Likely Moving to Heavyweight
Although a fight between Adesanya and Jones would be a blockbuster pay-per-view, a fight between the two fighters is unlikely to happen soon. The Last Stylebender has expressed interest in defending his title next against Jared Cannonier and Jones says he is moving up to heavyweight.
Adesanya headlined Saturday night’s UFC 253 and he defended his title for a second time, defeating Paulo Costa by dominant second-round TKO. With the victory, he improved his professional MMA record to 20-0 and looks toward his third title defense.
His next opponent will likely be the winner of Robert Whittaker and Cannonier. The two top middleweights are scheduled to fight during UFC 254 on October 24.
On the other end, Jones vacated his light heavyweight title and announced that he is moving up to the heavyweight division. It is unclear when Jones plans to debut in the division.
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UFC 253 Fight Card & Results
Here are the results of UFC 253:
Main Card
Middleweight Championship Bout: Israel Adesanya def. Paulo Costa via Second-Round TKO
Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Jan Błachowicz def. Dominick Reyes via Second-Round TKO
Flyweight Bout: Brandon Royval def. Kai Kara-France via Second-Round Guillotine Choke
Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Ketlen Vieira def. Sijara Eubanks Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
150-Pound Catchweight Bout: Hakeem Dawodu def. Zubaira Tukhugov via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Lightweight Bout: Brad Riddell def. Alex da Silva Coelho via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Welterweight Bout: Jake Matthews def. Diego Sanchez via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
150-Pound Catchweight Bout: Ľudovít Klein def. Shane Young via First-Round KO
Light Heavyweight Bout: William Knight def. Aleksa Camur via Unanious Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Early Preliminary Card
Heavyweight Bout: Juan Espino Dieppa def. Jeff Hughes via First-Round Scarf Hold Choke
Light Heavyweight Bout: Danilo Marques def. Khadis Ibragimov via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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Analyst on UFC Superfight: ‘It Might Be Time’