UFC: Jones, Adesanya Settle Differences

Story By: Gabriel Pickup

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The UFC has a loathsome reputation. Two men or women fight in an octagon to settle their differences. Often times, the winner shuts up the loser, and everybody moves on. But what happens when two fighters who truly despise one another don’t get to let their mixed martial arts abilities do the talking?

Background(s)

Jon “Bones” Jones is considered by many to be the greatest fighter in the history of mixed martial arts. His rise through the UFC rankings began on August 9, 2008. He fought Tomasz Drwal on two weeks notice, and won via unanimous decision. Since then, he has fought and defeated Alexander Gustafsson (twice), Chael Sonnen, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Rashad Evans, Glover Teixeira, Daniel Cormier, Dominick Reyes, Thiago Santos, and even recently submitted heavyweight contender Ciryl Gane after the first two minutes of the first round.

Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya has slowly been rising in the UFC all-time debate since he debuted in 2018. Many have Adesanya in their Mount Rushmore of UFC fighters due to his kickboxing ability, considerable domination of the Middleweight Division. Making light work of aged legend Anderson Silva, Robert Whittaker (twice), Marvin Vettori, Kelvin Gastellum, Yoel Romero, Jared Cannonier, and knocking out Alex Pereira have earned Adesanya Jon Jones comparisons.

Conflict Arises

Stylebender was asked about these comparisons in a 2019 interview, responding with “I’ve already killed one GOAT, I’m hunting the next,” referencing beating Anderson Silva, and aiming to beat Jon Jones in a fight down the line. Jones tweeted three days later the following:

“You got past the legendary GOAT, now come f*** with the King of the jungle. I’ll make you call me daddy by the third.”

Adesanya claimed shortly after that he is “everything he (Jon Jones) wished he would have been.”

Since this brief exchange, Jones and Adesanya have exchanged disses about wearing fingernail polish, testing positive for Performance-Enhancing Drugs and UFC record. Jones hopped on Instagram and Twitter to express his amusement with Adesanya losing to Jan Blachowicz on a split-decision. Ultimately, one thing remained true. The two fighters hated each other, and are not hesitant to express that.

A Halt to the Beef

In August 2020, Jones announced his vacating of the Light Heavyweight Belt to move up to the Heavyweight Division. As a result, Adesanya being a Middleweight meant that it would be temporarily improbable for the two fighters to agree to a weight class to fight at. Therefore, despite their open disdain for one another, neither fighter would be able to have direct bragging rights over the other for the foreseeable future.

Tides Switching

As Jones dominated Gane and Adesanya knocked out Middleweight Champion Pereira, both fighters staying in their own lanes made the media circulation around this story dwindle down. In addition, Jones was asked about his favorite UFC Fighters to watch outside of his division, to where he reluctantly admitted that Stylebender was his favorite.

Stylebender, just a few days prior, downplayed his negative relationship with Jones by saying “real recognize real”. However, UFC fans remained skeptical given how personal their feud was.

Beef Squashed

On July 6, 2023, the two fighters were seen together playfully showing off their wrestling. Jones posted the two firmly grasping hands on Instagram, wishing Adesanya “nothing but the best moving forward”. Adesanya posted the friendly exchange to Youtube. It seems as if this multiyear dilemma has finally come to an end, and UFC fans everywhere can finally sleep at night.