UFC

Why is there so much bad blood between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya?

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Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya fight in different divisions, yet they have time to hunt each other down

The rivalry between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya isn’t dying down, even with the coronavirus pandemic shutting UFC events.

Jon Jones reacts to being poked in the eye by Alexander Gustafsson of Sweden during a Light Heavyweight title bout during the UFC 232 event (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Dana White wanted to host UFC 249 but Disney and ESPN pulled the plug on that. UFC fans have been left in the lurch with hopes of it returning soon but are still getting a taste of some rivalries thanks to social media.

Adesanya vs Jones is one of the weirder ones, given that the pair are in different divisions. Jones is considered as one of the greatest ever in the world of MMA while Adesanya is unbeaten in his career too.

Jones is the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion while Adesanya is the current Middleweight Champion. They both are unlikely to meet in the Octagon anytime soon, so how is there so much bad blood between them?

Starts as a school yard fight

Both stars have taken shots at each other regularly with Jones hitting out on Adesanya’s love for anime.

The New Zealand-Nigerian star, however, has provided details of how the rivalry actually started.

Israel Adesanya talks during a press conference for UFC 248 at Toyota Center on February 07, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

One account says Jones used to be a fan of his but all that stopped on Instagram after Adesanya started winning.

Another account from the Middleweight champion came on the Joe Rogan Experience.

“He started it.

“I think it’s because I’m the freshman. I’m the guy he wishes he was. He is a fan, trust me, he is a fan, he is my biggest fan.”

Adesanya added that Jones was also upset about certain issues he has had in the past, and that was the point that gets him riled up:

“I think he sees himself like I could have been that cool if I didn’t f*** all this up.”

Verbal volleys follow

Adesanya also had a go at Jones early in mid-2019 and claimed that the Light Heavyweight champion wasn’t as great as when there was no drug testing.

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Jones too hasn’t taken these words kindly and has hit out at Adesanya in the past and in the present too.

The war of words continued now with Adesanya calling Jones out again in March 2020.

Adesanya then recently called Jones a ‘p****’ and the Light Heavyweight champion didn’t take that lightly.

He launched a scathing attack on Adesanya and posted something rather brutal too but he deleted that.

Adesanya wasn’t going to let this go either and had a go at Jones again:

A fight between the pair is the logical decision and it might happen if Adesanya moves up a weight class.

Jon Jones has had his troubles with the law in the past (Getty)

Jones vs Adesanya could be one of the great fights in UFC history, and their rivalry is only getting more heated with each passing day.

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Saiyed Adeem Karim

Ditching a corporate job to follow a dream isn't easy, but when football comes calling, who can say no? Been following the beautiful game since 1998. Liverpool addict, F1 fanatic!

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