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Jon Jones doesn’t have his next opponent lined up yet, so he’s taking aim at Israel Adesanya ahead of the interim middleweight champion’s title unification bout against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 this weekend.
Jones and Adesanya have exchanged words in the past through interviews and over social media. The latest round of verbal warfare came on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, as Adesanya began doing his media rounds to promote his UFC 243 fight, he mentioned Jones a future opponent with hopes that they could clash as early as 2021 after he establishes himself as a dominant 185-pound champion.
Jones obviously caught wind of those comments, and he unleashed a series of messages blasting Adesanya for his perceived hubris regarding a potential fight between them.
“Israel Adesanya, keep convincing yourself that one day you’ll be ready to face a boss like me,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “I’ll keep convincing myself that when that day comes, I will make you my absolute b—ch.”
“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, f--k with a beast like me and I will expose you.”
.@stylebender Keep convincing yourself that one day you’ll be ready to face a boss like me. I’ll keep convincing myself that when that day comes, I will make you my absolute bitch.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) October 2, 2019
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, fuck with a beast like me and I will expose you.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) October 2, 2019
Jones also took exception to past comments from Adesanya criticizing his most recent performance against Thiago Santos, which ended in a split-decision after five rounds.
“You said you saw me fight in person against Thiago and I didn’t look the same,” Jones said. “I also got to see you fight [Kelvin Gastelum], (and) didn’t need to be (there) in person. You were almost knocked out on more than one occasion.”
“Thiago couldn’t even touch my face and he grew up kickboxing,” he wrote in another message. “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 a [jiu-jitsu] tournament, you probably wouldn’t even place.”
You said you saw me fight in person against Thiago and I didn’t look the same. I also got to see you fight KG, didn’t need to be in person. You were almost knocked out on more than one occasion
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) October 2, 2019
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 a jujitsu tournament, you probably wouldn’t even place.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) October 2, 2019
Adesanya has never been short on words when it comes to Jones, so it seems likely he’ll fire back with a response of his own when he speaks to the media on Thursday as part of the UFC 243 media day.
With a title fight against Whittaker just days away, Adesanya understandably has a lot on his mind, but Jones just added a few more things to think about in those final hours as he prepares to compete at UFC 243.