UFC champions Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya engage in impromptu sparring session
Fans have often wondered how things would play out in a superfight between reigning UFC world champions Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya.
With ‘Bones’ successfully moving up to heavyweight last March, the chances of seeing the two men scrap inside the Octagon seem reasonably far-fetched. Still, thanks to a recent video clip shared by @hokage_mma on Twitter, we can glimpse what it would be like to see the two MMA megastars go toe-to-toe.
The clip begins with both men engaging in a rather serious-looking staredown, but the tension is quickly broken when both men break character and embrace. From there, the two titleholders go at it in an impromptu sparring session that ends with ‘The Last Stylebender’ shooting in for a takedown. Did he manage to get Jon Jones down to the ground? We may never know.
Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya Are Back on Top of the MMA World
Jones and Adesanya have been linked to a potential superfight in the past, but with ‘Bones’ kissing the light heavyweight division goodbye, the possibility of seeing the two meet fight for real is likely long gone.
In March, Jon Jones returned from a three-year-long layoff to make his heavyweight division debut following the unceremonious exit of former champion Francis Ngannou. Meeting top-ranked contender Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, Jones returned with a vengeance, submitting Gane just past the two-minute mark of the opening round to capture the vacant heavyweight title. Since then, Jones has been tied to a highly anticipated title tilt with general consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic. No official announcement has been made, but recent reports suggest that the two will square off in November when the promotion heads back to Madison Square Garden in NYC.
A month after Jon Jones’ triumphant return, Israel Adesanya had his own reason to celebrate. Suffering a shocking fifth-round knockout at the hands of long-time rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281, ‘The Last Stylebender’ stormed back and retook the middleweight title with a vicious second-round knockout of Pereira at UFC 287.
This Saturday at UFC 290, Adesanya’s next challenger will present themselves as top-five ranked middleweights Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis will battle in an 185-pound title eliminator.
