UFC heavyweight Tai Tuivasa is targeting a fight with Jon Jones, who privately messaged him indicating the wish could become a reality.
Tuivasa is scheduled to face former interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane in the headlining bout of UFC Paris, the promotion’s debut event in France, on Sep. 10 at Accor Arena. He’s coming off an impressive knockout finish over Derrick Lewis in his last outing in Feb. at UFC 271. Tuivasa had hit a skid in his professional career that saw him drop three in a row, but he managed to reverse his fortunes and racked up a five-fight win streak going into the bout.
With former UFC light heavyweight champion Jones waiting to make his heavyweight debut, Tuivasa opened up about a brief exchange the two had online.
“He messaged me actually, which was pretty funny,” Tuivasa said in an appearance on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani (ht MMA Fighting). “I must have said I’ll fight him [in an interview] and he’s going, like, ‘Keep winning, you’ll get your wish’ or something.
“I don’t know if he was trying to scare me or turn me on, but it did kind of both.”
Tuivasa Believes Jones Is the Best Fighter Ever
Widely regarded as the best mixed martial artist of all time, Jones holds numerous records in the UFC, including the most title defenses, most wins, and the longest win streak in the 205 lb division. He has essentially gone undefeated inside the octagon, with his only loss coming by disqualification from an illegal elbow he threw in a bout he appeared to be winning.
Although Tuivasa did not have the most pleasant exchange with “Bones,” he believes Jones to be the greatest fighter ever. According to “Bam Bam,” Jones may not be the nicest guy, but he would welcome a potential showdown down the line.
“I’ve said it many times before and I stand by what I said, I think Jon Jones is the best fighter to ever fight,” Tuivasa said. “Just how he fights. How he fights, he is probably the best fighter to ever step foot in the cage.
“But is he a d***head? Yes, I think he’s a d***head. And will I fight him? Yes. Will he fight me? I think he would because he’s fought everyone and anyone. He’s one of the greatest to do it, but I’d love to fight him. Not for anything else, just for the same reason I like to fight all these people who have made names.”
Tuivasa Backed Himself To Knock Jones Out
Initially, the reigning UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou got linked to an outing with Jones, but contract disputes and knee surgery would rule out the matchup. Former division king Stipe Miocic was expected to take on Jones for the interim title in the meantime, but no concrete developments have emerged yet.
Considering Jones’ dominance, it would likely be a hard night for anyone. However, Tuivasa thinks that he could be the first person to knockout Jones.
“Win or lose, I’ll go in there and have a swack,” Tuivasa said. “If I dink him, I sink him. Dink him, I sink him. That’s fair dinkum, you know what I mean?”
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UFC Fan Favorite Warns He Will KO ‘D*******’ Jon Jones