Daniel Cormier On Board For Potential Adesanya vs Jones Superfight
Daniel Cormier has spoken of his fascination with the Israel Adesanya-Jon Jones rivalry, and said he would love to see them settle their differences inside the UFC Octagon.
The long-running Adesanya-Jones feud intensified following ‘The Last Stylebender’s’ successful title defence against Paulo Costa at UFC 253, with the back-and-forth barbs over social media turning personal.
No subject has been off limits in recent weeks, with posts ranging from memes, to personal insults, to PEDs accusations. Even the subject of deceased family members is no longer sacred.
The former longtime light heavyweight champion Jones, has been out of action since February of this year. Following his unanimous decision win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247, ‘Bones’ vacated his title with a view to move up to heavyweight.
Jones’ Admission
Speaking to the media on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi prior to UFC Fight Island 6 (as transcribed by MMA Junkie), the now UFC commentator and retired former two-weight champion Cormier, expressed his disbelief that Adesanya got Jones to admit that he hid under the cage at Jackson Wink Academy from getting a drug test from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
“Adesanya’s one of those internet kids, internet kids don’t even need to verify if something’s true,” Cormier speculated. “They use it. There’s a rumour, they use it, which is actually quite astounding, because there was a rumour that Jones hid under that cage for years. Adesanya somehow got him to admit to doing it. He actually got him to admit to doing it. So there’s obviously a method to his madness.
“When this started and he kept going after Jones I was like, ‘I can’t imagine how many plates or coffee mugs Jones broke in his house that night because he’s so mad.’ Then he got him to admit that? It was nuts. Jones has had some good comebacks, too. It’s been good.”
Wait Till Mid-2021?
While Jones has been successful in goading Adesanya into a war of words, ‘The Last Stylebender’ has been firm in his stance that a potential superfight with ‘Bones’ won’t happen until mid-2021, believing that he has unfinished business at middleweight.
Cormier says that given Adesanya’s improvements over his UFC-tenure, the former kickboxing standout has been smart in playing the long game with Jones. DC believes that the longer his former rival has to wait, the harder the fight will be for him.
“If you’re Israel Adesanya you just don’t fight him, because you know how mad he is,” Cormier said. “Could you imagine making this man as mad as you’re making him and still not fighting him? Because it doesn’t seem Izzy’s ready to fight him right now, but I think it would be a fantastic fight. Jones wants to fight him. Jones is a fighter, man. He’ll fight anybody. He’ll fight Adesanya, but Izzy won’t even fight him, which is just like picking at somebody constantly but at a distance. I’m not saying Adesanya’s scared, but Adesanya says, ‘I need my time. You said you’re going to heavyweight ten years ago; you’re finally doing it now. Why can’t I have time?’ It’s very fascinating watching these two interact with each other. It’s nasty. But these rivalries tend to get nasty. Jones and I was not nice. They tend to get nasty. It’s fun for fans.
“I hope they fight at some point. I think it’s a very interesting matchup. Adesanya’s improving. If I’m Jones I fight him sooner than later if I can get him in there, because the longer – remember, this guy’s only been here for a couple years. Now he looks like he’s going to hold the belt forever.”
Which Weight Class?
While both sides are willing, given the bad blood between them, the logistics of actually making the fight could be a sticking point. Jones has recently announced that his next fight will see his much-vaunted move to heavyweight become a reality. While Adesanya has exclusively fought at middleweight in his MMA career to date.
Adesanya however, has claimed that jumping two weight classes up to heavyweight would hold no fear for him. Although Cormier isn’t convinced and believes a middle ground of sorts would have to be agreed upon for the fight to go ahead.
“Here’s the dilemma with the fight: What weight are they going to fight at?” Cormier asked. “Because Jones is going up. Is he going to get back down to 205 pounds? That’s championship weight. That’s not easy for him. It’s never easy for any of us. Making 205 is awful. It was awful. It’s hard for Jones, too. He’s a big guy. So for Adesanya to come up and just think that dude is going to deplete himself all the way back down to the championship weight, that’s probably not what he would want to do. But if Adesanya can [move up and] get past [Jan] Blachowicz, and now he’s holding that title? Now it might be a bit more intriguing for Jones to go back down there. I don’t really care about the weight. Adesanya’s a big guy. He could go 215 and give Jones a few pounds.”
Do you think we’ll see Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones settle their differences inside the UFC Octagon in 2021?
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