Israel Adesanya: Jon Jones shares five-word response to Israel Adesanya’s call for training link-up

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones recently responded to Israel Adesanya, after the middleweight star asked to train with 'Bones' in the future.

While the thought of the pair training together may excite fans today, there was a time that the very idea of Adesanya and Jones being in the same room together was deemed impossible. Between 2019 and 2023, the pair regularly expressed their dislike of one another, with them often engaging in back-and-forths on social media.

With 'The Last Stylebender' and 'Bones' being at the top of the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, respectively at the time, it had looked as though a super-fight was on the cards between the two, however, it never materialized. Instead, after a number of years of bad blood, the pair squashed their beef in 2023.

Check out the duo's interaction below:

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Now, three years on from their rivalry, Israel Adesanya has opened up about where he's at in his career. Despite currently being on a three-fight skid, the Nigerian-New Zealander wants to return to the top of the sport and believes learning from Jon Jones could be the key.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Adesanya said:

"It's on the list [training with Jones]. With Jon, bro I know I can learn a lot. [He's] a long guy, his frame. I've watched him since UFC 92. The way he moves, I can pick his brain on some stuff. Definitely it'll happen but [in] time."

Check out Adesanya's comments here:

The heavyweight champ was then spotted in the comments, where he wrote:

"Man, that would be amazing."

Check out Jon Jones' comments below:

Tai Tuivasa predicts potential Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall clash

Tai Tuivasa recently shared his thoughts on the heavyweight division as whole, as well as the potential unification bout between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.

Speaking on a recent episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, 'Bam Bam', who himself is on a five-fight skid, called out the quality of his division except for Jones and Aspinall. He said:

"Bro, the heavyweights are sh*t. They're all sh*t, except for Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. Other than that, f*cking everyone's pretty standard."

When it came to the potential clash between the two heavyweight stars, Tuivasa added:

"I think if anyone was to beat Jones now it would be Tom."

Check out Tai Tuivasa's comments here (27:00):

About the author

Will began his tenure at Sportskeeda as an MMA writer over 2 years ago and has penned over 1800 pieces so far, including 35+ exclusives, which have garnered close to 5 million views.

Will graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications from Bournemouth University, where he was also a valued member of their communications team. His degree heavily focused on social media and writing, which eventually led him toward sports writing.

He turned into an MMA fan after witnessing Conor McGregor’s 13-second TKO win over Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in 2015. The Irishman sits at the top of his list of top-five MMA fighters of all time, which also includes world champions like Demetrious Johnson, Michael Bisping, Max Holloway, and Georges St-Pierre.

Will especially enjoys working on event days and feels his contribution to Sportskeeda’s UFC 300 coverage was one of the high points of his time with the organization. He ensures his articles are accurate by going through multiple sources, which also helps his writing be as informative as possible.

His interests away from work include football, gaming, live streaming, and listening to music.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi