Jon Jones not affected by Israel Adesanya’s trash talk: ‘He’s not in my head at all’

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones says Israel Adesayna’s mind games and trash talk are not working.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] owns no real state in [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ head, at least according to the UFC light heavyweight champion.

Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC), who’s set to defend his belt against Dominick Reyes in February at UFC 247 in Houston, shot down claims of he’s been affected by recent trash talk with Adesany, the UFC middleweight champion. In fact, Jones said it’s quite the opposite and actually enjoys the back-and-forth with “The Last Style Bender.”

“As far as being in my head with the internet stuff, it’s just fun,” Jones said at Friday’s UFC 247 press conference on in Las Vegas. “It’s a lot of fun, the fans enjoy it when we chirp back and forth, and I like to keep people excited. He’s not in my head, he’s not in my head at all. I like the energy he brings to the sport and I like being a part of it.”

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Jones and Adesanya have gone at it on Twitter over the last few months, and speculation about a potential fight between the two have grown among fans and media. Jones, 32, said the champ vs. champ fight could actually go down if Adesanya really had intent in fighting him now.

“At the end of the day, if Israel wanted to fight me, that would be a gigantic fight for the sport,” Jones said. “A lot of people are talking about, ‘Well, why are you forcing Israel to go to light heavyweight?’ There’s like a gigantic jump between me and the heavyweights, me an Israel are only 15, 20 pounds apart. So if Israel really wanted to fight me, he would do it. But he’s a (explicit) and there’s really no way around it.”

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Jones is one of the most successful champions in UFC history. He’s defended the loght heavyweight belt a total of 10 times in his UFC career. Meanwhile, former interim champ Adesanya recently unified the middleweight title, stopping then champion Robert Whittaker back in October.

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Jon Jones wanted Stipe Miocic fight; ‘strong possibility’ of heavyweight move after UFC 247

Could Jon Jones finally move to heavyweight after UFC 247? He said it’s “absolutely” a real possibility.

Could [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] finally be making his move to the heavyweight division following his next UFC light heavyweight title defense against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247?

Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) said he was ready to pull the trigger for his first fight of 2020, so he definitely sees it on the horizon.

“I think it’s a very strong possibility,” Jones told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Friday’s UFC 247 news conference in Las Vegas. “Absolutely. There’s always going to be someone next. I feel as though I’ve cleared the division and I’m not waiting around. I’m taking new challenges. I’m not sitting on the title. I’m not hiding from anybody. I chose Dominick because he appears to be the best out of all my contenders and I’m just ready to take over the world.”

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Jones will meet Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the main event of UFC 247, which takes place Feb. 8 at Toyota Center in Houston with a main card set to air on pay-per-view. It will be the third defense in the latest title reign for “Bones,” and one that could give him the UFC record for most championship fight victories (14).

At that point, it would seem fair for Jones to pursue some unique challenges. He said he was ready to do following his win over Thiago Santos at UFC 239 in July, as he claims to have pushed for a showdown with heavyweight king [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] after Miocic took the belt from Daniel Cormier at UFC 241 in August.

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According to Jones it didn’t materialize because of the UFC’s intent to make a trilogy bout between Miocic (19-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) and Cormier, so that’s he he ended up fighting Reyes.

“I was trying to get a Stipe Miocic fight and I thought that maybe that would happen,” Jones said. “But instead we have Stipe vs. ‘DC’ 3. But at the moment I was so ready to go to heavyweight and stick my hands in some of those big fellas.”

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UFC 247 faceoff video: Lots of chatter between Jon Jones, Dominick Reyes in first staredown

The UFC 247 title-fight participants got a first look at each other as the on-sale press conference ended with faceoffs

LAS VEGAS – Promotional efforts for February’s UFC 247 kicked off today with tickets going on sale to the public and the key fighters participating in a press conference.

UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) and top contender [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), who meet in the main event, were in attendance, as were women’s flyweight titleholder [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and challenger [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who clash in the co-headliner.

At the conclusion of the press conference, the fighters from the two title matchups came face-to-face for the first time ahead of the Feb. 8 event, which takes place at Toyota Center in Houston and airs on pay-per-view following prelims, likely to air on ESPN and stream on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Intensity was in the air, and there was lots of talk between the headliners, but everyone involved stayed professional. To see how it all unfolded, watch the video above to see the UFC 247 press conference faceoffs.

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Dominick Reyes says one win won’t be enough against Jon Jones: ‘You have to beat him twice’

Dominick Reyes says he knows he’ll have to defeat Jon Jones not once, but twice, to cement his position as the UFC’s top 205-pounder.

[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] has worked his way up to the top of the light heavyweight ladder and is all set to challenge [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] for the UFC’s 205-pound title.

But the California native admitted that that while he’s backing himself to be the man to dethrone Jones, he knows that one victory over Jones probably won’t be enough. He’ll need to beat him in a rematch, too.

“You can’t just beat Jon Jones one time,” he told Submission Radio. “He’s been champion since almost like the whole length of the UFC light heavyweight division. Regardless of however the fight goes down or whatever, (if) I win the fight, he deserves a rematch no matter what.

“It’s just not going to be enough. I beat Jon Jones and all of a sudden, ‘Oh, it’s a fluke. Oh no.’ Just like always. It’s a reality – it’s just not going to be enough. You can’t just beat Jon Jones one time. You have to beat him twice.”

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Those comments offer a glimpse into Reyes’ mindset heading into the contest, as he looks to break out of the shadows and prove to the world just how good he is. He thinks his skills haven’t yet been fully acknowledged,  either by the fans or by the UFC, which he thinks wanted Chris Weidman to be the next to challenge Jones.

Reyes said he was a little irked by what he thought was a concerted push by the UFC to position the former middleweight champion for a possible shot at Jones, and spoke of his satisfaction of halting those supposed plans with his first-round finish of Weidman at UFC on ESPN 6 in Boston in October.

“I knew it – I knew it the whole time,” he said. “I was like, ‘All right, it’s cool, keep underestimating me. All right, that’s fine. See what happens to your boy. Watch what happens to your boy and then talk to me after the fight.’ That’s how I felt about that one.

“I knew the stakes. I knew what I was in for, and I knew what he brought to the table – and I knew I was better, so I agreed to the fight. And as they started to hype up Chris and Jon, the whole deal, I was like, ‘All right, I see you. Watch.

“It was like, ‘Watch this, and then you’ll really know the truth.’ So, for me it was just like a little more fire, ’cause nobody likes to be disrespected, especially fighters – especially myself. And when you feel like you are kind of being disrespected, that adds a little bit more.”

The victory pushed Reyes into the top contender’s spot for a shot at Jones at UFC 247 on Feb. 8, and kicked off the back-and-forth between the two fighters. Reyes said Jones’ attempts to wind him up came across as a little immature to him.

“His trash talk is brother trash talk,” he explained. “I have brothers, he has brothers. You know when you have a bunch of brothers and you guys are all around and it’s competition there constantly? It’s little jabs, it’s little shots about their biggest insecurities just to mess with them and get them mad, and then they do something and you’re like, ‘Mom!’ It’s the same thing, he’s like a little kid. It’s kind of childish.

“It is what it is. I just think it’s funny, man, because I don’t care. I don’t give a (expletive) what that guy says to me. I don’t care at all what he says to me. Like, bro, you can say whatever you want. Say whatever you want. It’s not gonna help you. It’s not gonna save you. It’s not gonna make me not want to knock you out. It’s not gonna try to make me knock you out more. I’m not dumb. You’re not just gonna (run in going) ‘Arrgh,’ and then catch (me). Come on, man. I thought we were professionals. Let’s go.”

But while he isn’t a fan of Jones’ trash talk, Reyes said the UFC light heavyweight champion does have respect for him, largely because of the threat he poses to his championship reign. And the undefeated contender said he believes he and Jones will serve up a 205-pound classic when they meet in the main event of UFC 247.

“I think he’s treating me with a lot of respect. I think he knows how dangerous I am. I think he knows,” Reyes said. “He’s not taking this fight lightly, man – he’s not. No matter what he says, I’m one of his most dangerous opponents in a while. Thiago was pretty dangerous, and Thiago went out there and fought, but he didn’t have nearly the reach that I have. So I think this is going to be very similar to the (Alexander Gustafsson vs.) Jones 1 (fight).”

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Spinning Back Clique: Is McGregor-Cerrone or Khabib-Ferguson more compelling?

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack the latest MMA news and notes in Episode 5 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” react to the latest news, notes and fight bookings, as well as look ahead to UFC on ESPN 7 this weekend.

Show rundown:

  • Finally, we can discuss [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] news that has to do with cagefighting, as the former two-division UFC champion was booked to headline UFC 246 against [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag]. But the Jan. 18 fight isn’t taking place at lightweight; it’s taking place at welterweight. So, what exactly is at stake here?
  • It’s happening. … We think. … We hope. For the fifth time, [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] has been booked. The 155-pound title fight is set for what should be UFC 249 on April 18 in New York. Will the fifth time be the charm in us finally seeing this fight, and what can we expect from this point on?
  • Whether it’s MMA or grappling, former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] just seems off. He was cut early before losing a decision to Nick Rodriguez last week at Polaris 12. Combine that with two devastating knockout losses in his last two MMA fights, as well recent comments that his heart isn’t into fighting anymore, and you’ve got to wonder: Where does he go from here with his combat sports career?
  • UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Tito Ortiz[/autotag], who meets ex-WWE superstar Alberto El Patron this weekend in Combate Americas, got mad at MMA Junkie last week, calling us “click bait” for writing a story highlighting his comments about current UFC light heavyweight champ [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]. “I think I can beat Jon Jones,” Ortiz said. “I think I have a good chance – I really do think I’ve got a good chance.” His words, not ours. So when you hear that, what’s your take on it?
  • UFC on ESPN 7 this Saturday features [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] in a heavyweight main event. And in the co-headliner, [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag] fights [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] at strawweight. Of those four fighters, who has the most to gain with an impressive victory?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 5 of “Spinning Back Clique” in the video above. And make sure to weigh in on McGregor vs. Cerrone in our poll below.

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