Jon Jones’s Head Coach Sends a Warning to Israel Adesanya

Jon Jones seems to be on an inevitable collision course with the Middleweight Champion, Israel Adesanya. The pair have gone back and forth on social media for a while now, and the appetite for an in-cage collision is high.

Jones is virtually undefeated (except for one DQ loss) while Izzy is undefeated in all terms of the word. They are two giants of MMA, and a super-fight would be absolutely massive.

Jones’s coach Mike Winkeljohn has commented on Jones and Adesanya fighting each other.

“Striking wise, here’s the deal. Jon has fought some big tall guys before and he’s done well. You know the first fight with Gustafsson um, wasn’t Jon’s great night by any means. Like, not all Jon Jones was there many reasons that fight.

“But he has already fought long guys. I am not sure if Izzy’s fought a Jon Jones before as far as length goes and definitely nobody’s fought a Jon Jones as far as skill-set goes.

“I know everybody that’s coming in my gym, they are big heavyweights. They come in and I think they immediately are surprised by how big Jon’s presence is in the cage when they start working out with him.”

Jon Jones vs Israel Adesanya: Will the UFC book it?

There are multiple issues in creating this fight that even the UFC cannot really control. First, Jon Jones said he will be moving up to Heavyweight.

Second, Adesanya doesn’t really have the same size as Jones, especially if he bulks up for Heavyweight. This isn’t as natural a fit as many other cross-division rivalries.

However, Izzy is planning to move to Jones’s old stomping grounds of Light Heavyweight and challenge Jan Blachowicz for the title. That is a clear warning shot to Jones, who abdicated the belt when he moved up to Heavyweight.

Izzy has also expressed an interest in defending his Middleweight title, so the Jones fight seems odd on this timeline. But at the end of the day, this fight is a money-maker.

The fighters and the company usually come to terms with a guaranteed big-seller. Even if the stars aren’t perfectly aligning for this contest, the UFC will undoubtedly find a way through this conundrum for the fans.