For now, the idea of Jon Jones taking on Israel Adesanya will have to be taken care of in the virtual gaming world.
Jones, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, believes he will be in a new division by the time Adesanya, the UFC middleweight titleholder, gets around to moving up and challenging him.
Adesanya unified the middleweight titles with a knockout of Robert Whittaker this past Saturday night at UFC 243. The unbeaten fighter would likely need to make at least one title defense before moving up, plus extra time to prepare his body to take on “Bones” at 205 pounds.
Related: UFC 243 Results: Israel Adesanya Stops Robert Whittaker, Unifies Middleweight Titles
Jon Jones: “I’ll Probably Already Be In The Heavyweight Division”
In replying to a comment made on Twitter by UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou, Jones wrote “By the time this kid gets his confidence together I’ll probably already be in the heavyweight division. I don’t need to wait till 2021 to start believing in myself.”
By the time this kid gets his confidence together I’ll probably already be in the heavyweight division. I don’t need to wait till 2021 to start believing in myself https://t.co/PE16eSVl9i
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) October 7, 2019
Jones earned another title defense earlier this year over Thiago Santos, but he does not have a new fight scheduled at the moment. He has teased a big announcement in recent weeks.
He also offered up plenty to say via social media before Adesanya’s win over Whittaker.
“Keep convincing yourself that one day you’ll be ready to face a boss like me,” Jones wrote. “I’ll keep convincing myself that when that day comes, I will make you my absolute (expletive). You said you saw me fight in person against Thiago and I didn’t look the same. I also got to see you fight (Kelvin Gastelum), didn’t need to be in person. You were almost knocked out on more than one occasion.
“Thiago couldn’t even touch my face and he grew up kickboxing. You only got to see my striking that night and now you’re convinced you’ll beat me? Let me see you in a wrestling match or (ju-jitsu) tournament, you probably wouldn’t even place.
“I can see you’re starting to sip your own Kool-Aid, I know how it feels, I’ve been there before. Only I was around 23. Just don’t become delusional kid, (expletive) with a beast like me and I will expose you.”