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Reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is still interested in a superfight with former 205-pound king Jon Jones.
Before “The Last Stylebender” moved up to light heavyweight to challenge then-champion Jan Blachowicz, there was a lot of chatter in the MMA community about a match between the two combatants. But, Adesanya lost to Blachowicz at UFC 259 in March 2021, and coupled with Bones’ hiatus from the sport and move to heavyweight, talks of the possible clash were halted.
After his loss to Blachowicz, Adesanya dropped back down to 185 pounds and has defended his belt twice since then, scoring unanimous decision victories over Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker.
On the other end, “Bones” has been out of action since his light heavyweight title defense against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020. He vacated the 205-pound belt in August 2020 in pursuit of heavyweight, but Jones has yet to make his debut.
Speaking with TMZ recently, The Last Stylebender reaffirmed his desire to fight Jones, even though he doesn’t “need” the match for his fighting legacy.
“We’ll see. Time will tell,” Adesanya said. “I don’t need it, but I do want it. I don’t need it, though. People think I need it for my legacy.”
And if the two did meet, Adesanya would want it to be in the division Jones ruled for years, not at heavyweight. “Nah, I like light heavyweight,” The Last Stylebender said. “That’s where he was dominant so I really wanna go light heavyweight.”
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Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier Next?
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Getty Jared Cannonier reacts after winning his middleweight fight against Derek Brunson via a second-round knockout during UFC 271 at Toyota Center on February 12, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
The Last Stylebender has had nothing but success in the UFC’s 185-pound division, and at UFC 271 last month, he notched his four title defense. He rematched the man he took the middleweight strap from, Robert Whittaker, and the two competed in a tit-for-tat war that went all five championship rounds.
And in the end, Adesanya edged the scorecards, winning via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46).
During the event’s main card, a presumed No. 1 middleweight contender bout took place between Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson. Cannonier got the job done by second-round KO, and after Adesanya defeated Whittaker, The Last Stylebender said he was interested in “fresh meat,” like Cannonier.
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Cannonier Is ‘Confident’ He’ll Receive a 185-Pound Title Fight Next
Cannonier is “confident” he’ll receive his first title fight, he told Ariel Helwani on a recent episode “The MMA Hour.”
“The only thing I’ve heard is Dana sort of kind of agreeing to it in his post-fight press conference,” Cannonier said via MMA Fighting. “He sort of gave me the nod and the smile when I was in the cage getting his attention and all that stuff. We’ll see what happens.
“Izzy also threw me an alley-oop there, so hopefully that’s enough to have them guys send me that contract. But we’ll see.”
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