Jon Jones surprises fans by offering unexpected compliment to Israel Adesanya despite past feud

Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya have both been able to dominate their respective divisions. The two have had stellar careers and have headlined multiple UFC events in championship bouts.

Ahead of Jones' much awaited return to the octagon at UFC 285 to challenge No.1-ranked contender Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight championship, he went sneaker shopping with Joe La Puma from Complex. Back in 2012, Jon Jones became the first ever mixed martial artist to sign a global sponsorship deal with Nike.

In the episode, Jones was asked to pick a fighter from the UFC roster who would do justice to a sneaker deal in terms of their fashion and persona. 'Bones' picked Israel Adesanya despite his dislike of the former middleweight champion.

He said:

“If I had to recommend you know, I don’t like this fighter very much but I can’t deny it, Israel Adesanya. Yeah, yeah, you know Izzy, he’s a statement maker. He’s not afraid to step outside of the box when it comes to his fashion and things like that. I can see him being a great sponsored athlete [to have]. I actually think he has a Puma deal, well deserved, well deserved.”

The two fighters have exchanged words on Twitter and expressed their indifference towards each other's performances. They've also teased a potential faceoff inside the octagon.

Check out Jones' comments on YouTube:

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Jon Jones believes Ciryl Gane is not here for a long time

Jon Jones will be making his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane. He will look to become only the eighth UFC fighter in history to hold belts from two different divisions.

He explained his approach to the fight and his thoughts on Gane's work ethic and motivation during the first episode of the UFC 285 Embedded series.

"I'm fighting for so much more than fame. Your name having meaning 50 years from now, that's winning to me. That's why I'm going after this heavyweight championship. I'm not going to lose all these years to a guy who is just here right now. That's the way I view him. He's just here right now. His words let me know that he doesn't believe he'll be here for a long time and I'm not losing to a guy like that."

Jones stated that at his age he couldn't care less about fame and was doing this for his legacy, which has already cemented its place in the annals of mixed martial arts history.

Check out his comments on the episode of UFC 285: Embedded: