The feud between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya has kicked into high gear in recent days, and it’s resonating with UFC president Dana White.
Although plenty of words have been exchanged – verbally and over social media – in recent years, the rivalry between Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) and Adesanya (20-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) has reached a new level since the middle champion’s successful title defense against Paulo Costa at UFC 253 this past month.
An endless stream of Twitter insults has been ongoing, with the fighters taking shots at each other’s skills, personal lives and even bringing family into the equation. It’s all building toward what feels like an inevitable clash, and White said he’s on board with it.
“That’s the fight to make, 100 percent,” White told UFC Arabia on Friday. “I think that a fight between those two is massive.”
Just because White has expressed interest in Adesanya vs. Jones doesn’t mean it’ll happen next, he said.
Adesanya appears committed to defending his 185-pound title against the top available contender, while Jones is plotting a long-anticipated move up to the heavyweight division after vacating the 205-pound championship.
White couldn’t put a timeline on when a possible Adesanya vs. Jones showdown might happen, but it’s certainly a matchup he’s prepared to pull the trigger on.
“It doesn’t depend on what I want; it depends on what they want to do,” White said. “Adesanya is a champ. He’s really coming into his own, and you can tell he knows this is his house, and he comes and acts like it. I think he wants the winner of Whittaker and Cannonier, and then we’ll see what happens after that.”