Israel Adesanya thinks Jon Jones is 'rage-baiting,' will fight again in the UFC
Israel Adesanya is convinced that Jon Jones will come out of retirement.
Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) relinquished his UFC heavyweight title and called it a career. As a result, Tom Aspinall was promoted from interim to undisputed champion.
Advertisement
Adesanya isn't buying Jones' retirement. He thinks the all-time great will eventually come back, and only walked away because of the current legal issues he's going through, where he's alleged to have been involved in a hit-and-run situation February in Albuquerque.
"I think he'll come back," Adesanya said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "It's just the drama of it. ... What do they call it now? The kids call it rage-baiting. It's working. I don't agree with the fact of holding up the division. Tom defended the belt. That's a defense on his book. Let the division keep moving, and now it moves forward. Now this whole thing comes out because it happened in February or whatever. F*cking that's why he retired.
"I think he'll go through this and then, again, he'll come back. I think he'll fight Tom. It's just too much money. They offered him what, $20 (million or) $30 million, I heard. Yeah, I think he'll come back. It'll even be bigger by the time he comes back because Tom would have had like two fights or three fights and then built up his own legacy, as well."
Adesanya wasn't ready to say Aspinall is the guy to beat Jones, but dubs the Brit as legit as advertised.
Advertisement
"I think Tom definitely is the guy," Adesanya said. "I've sat next to Tom and his father, and people say this about me on TV, 'Oh, you're so much bigger in person.' Tom is a huge dude, and the speed. It's the speed for me. For a heavyweight, I don't understand. I asked him about it, and he's like, 'I think fast.' I understand what he means neurologically. I do that, as well. When you're working, no matter how tired you are, you're still trying to give 100 percent in that moment on the Airdyne (bike) or whatever, just so your neurons are firing or wiring with that thing in mind."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Israel Adesanya: Jon Jones 'rage-baiting,' will come back to the UFC
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
UK police assess footage of Glastonbury acts over anti-Israel chants
British police say they are reviewing comments made on stage by rap punk duo Bob Vylan and hip hop trio Kneecap at this year's Glastonbury Festival. Rapper Bobby Vylan took to the festival's third-biggest West Holts Stage on Saturday shouting 'Free, free Palestine,' before leading crowds to chants against the Israeli military. Video showed the rapper shouting into the mic, 'Alright, but have you heard this one though? Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces).' The artist also performed in front of a screen that displayed a message which read: 'United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a 'conflict,'' referring to the UK's public broadcaster that has been showing the festival live. The Israeli Embassy in the UK said it was 'deeply disturbed' by what it called 'inflammatory and hateful' rhetoric at the festival. It said that when chants such as 'Death to the IDF' are said in front of tens of thousands of festivalgoers, 'it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence.' 'We call on Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK to denounce this rhetoric and reject of all forms of hatred,' it added. Glastonbury Festival said in a statement that it was 'appalled' by Vylan's remarks. 'Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,' organizers said. Ahead of the five-day music festival, all eyes were on Irish-language hip hop trio Kneecap after band member Liam O'Hanna – who performs under the stage name Mo Chara – was charged last month with a terrorism offense following an investigation by London's Metropolitan Police. The charge, which he has denied, relates to a London gig in November 2024 where he allegedly displayed a flag of Hezbollah – a proscribed terrorist organization banned under UK law. Ahead of the festival at Worthy Farm, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was not 'appropriate' for the group to perform. Kneecap have been vocal critics of Israel's war in Gaza but have previously said it has never supported Hamas or Hezbollah. During the set, Mo Chara told the crowds that recent events had been 'stressful' but that it was nothing in comparison to 'what the Palestinian people are going through.' Kneecap rapper Naoise O Caireallain, who goes by the stage name Móglaí Bap, hit back at Starmer's comment during Saturday's set: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f**k Keir Starmer.' In reference to his bandmate's forthcoming court date, O Caireallain also said they would 'start a riot outside the courts,' before adding: 'I don't want anybody to start a riot. No riots just love and support, and more importantly support for Palestine.' Police in Somerset, where the festival is held, said the force was 'aware of the comments made by acts' and that 'video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.' UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting slammed the performance as 'appalling' in an interview with Sky News on Sunday morning. He said that the BBC, which broadcast the set live, and Glastonbury 'have got questions to answer.' A BBC spokesperson said that some of the comments made during Vylan's performance were 'deeply offensive,' and added it had no plans to make the performance available on demand through its iPlayer streaming platform.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Sean O'Malley praises 'superstar' Ilia Topuria, glad UFC 'didn't make that fight'
Sean O'Malley admits he dodged a bullet against Ilia Topuria after a past callout never materialized. O'Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC, the then-bantamweight champion, called for a matchup with then-featherweight titleholder, Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) following a win at UFC 299 in March 2024. It didn't happen, however, and after what O'Malley witness Saturday, he's grateful. In the UFC 317 main event, Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira in the first round to capture the lightweight belt. It was a star-making performance from "El Matador," and O'Malley could only offer praise. "Thank God he didn't accept my callout," O'Malley said on his YouTube channel. "Ilia's a f*cking superstar. ... Thank God the UFC didn't make that fight." O'Malley expressed interest in seeing Topuria face Islam Makhachev in a super fight next, but with Makhachev slated to challenge welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena later this year, it's still in the distant future. After Paddy Pimblett entered the octagon for a staredown with Topuria at the conclusion of UFC 317, however, O'Malley said that's a fight that would have his attention. "Islam's already fighting JDM, so it's kind of pointless to even fantasize about that fight until that fight happens," O'Malley said. "Ilia vs. Paddy is the fight to make. Simple as that. 100 percent, that's the next fight if it's not going to be Ilia and Islam."
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Beneil Dariush exits UFC 317 with victory but mixed emotions: 'I'm frustrated'
LAS VEGAS – Beneil Dariush was still processing his UFC 317 win over Renato Moicano as he spoke to reporters backstage at T-Mobile Arena. Admittedly, he struggled to put into words the mix of emotions he felt after his unanimous decision victory. "I'm feeling fine," Dariush told MMA Junkie and other reporters. "I'm frustrated. I've already said I'm frustrated, so I'll try to stop saying it. I feel fine. I just keep replaying that first round in my head and it just makes me more angry." The fight was Dariush's first since December 2023. It had been 18 months between fights. Dariush (23-6-1 MMA, 17-6-1 UFC) avoided an early scare from Moicano (20-7-1 MMA, 12-7 UFC) and rallied to win Round 2 and 3. Despite getting the nod from all three judges, Dariush couldn't shake the memory of nearly being put away in the opening five minutes. "It's good to have that dog in you, like they say," Dariush said. "... I just felt like in the first round I was landing leg kicks. I was landing high kicks. My hands were somewhat landing, and then I get dropped, so it's frustrating. Then in Round 2, to be honest, the game plan was to shoot. I was supposed to take him down in the first round. It's frustrating because you don't follow the game plan that you set. You lose the round because of it. Then, you go to Round 2 and you're just so mad you're not thinking about game plans any more. You're just thinking about finding ways to win. The more I played it over in my head, it's better if I internalize it than I try externalize it, because it just doesn't sound good when I speak." Dariush said regardless of the outcomes of his fights, he tries to compartmentalize the results and put them in perspective in the bigger scheme of his life and faith. But fighting does motivate him greatly. At 36, he's still gunning for championship gold. Saturday's win snapped a two fight skid, and steered his momentum around. "I know I'm old, but man this felt like my first fight. I felt like there's so much to learn," Dariush said. "It felt good to be the last old man standing. But I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. ... You could be doing this forever. But if your heart is not in it and you're not focused and you don't have a desire to be a champion, leave. I have a desire to be champion. I would not be here just to fight just for another fight. If it was just for money, I wouldn't be here. It's to be champion. God put a desire in me, and that's what I want."
