With Israel Adesanya picking up his first professional loss at UFC 259, a super fight with Jon Jones now seems unlikely. Should Adesanya have beaten Blachowicz, he would have been in a prime position to tempt Jones back down to 205lbs.
However, as things stand, Adesanya looks like he will return to Middleweight, where a host of contenders are vying for a shot at 185lb gold. Adesanya’s head coach, Eugene Bareman recently sat down with Submission Radio, to discuss the fallout of UFC 259, as well future fights against Jones or a potential rematch with Blachowicz.
CKB Head Coach Eugene Bareman Talk Jones/Blachowicz
Speaking with Kacper Rosolowski and Denis Shkuratov, Bareman was asked his thoughts on whether a future matchup between Adesanya and Jones is still viable. He also discussed whether Jones ever came into conversation when deciding to take the Blachowicz fight. Bareman had the following to say:
“This fight had nothing to do with Jon Jones. The choice to take it had zero to do with Jon Jones. Jon Jones as a fight hasn’t fizzled away, Jon Jones is a buisnessman. Jon Jones understands how the PPV market works, and he understands where the money is. And that’s why this fight doesn’t fizzle away. Because at the end of the day, if it makes money it makes sense. Jon knows who the biggest star in the sport is at the moment. And who can get him paid the most. That is why the fight won’t fizzle out.”
With the Jones fight seemingly still a viable option, one might wonder whether the team at CKB have any interest in getting one back over Blachowicz. Bareman had the following to say about the matter:
“We’re competitive. Israel’s ultra competitve. Israel will go down, clean up and dominate 185 for a while. I do see Jan as being quite a long reigning champion, and I think we’ll definetly chase Jan again. He’s a worthy opponent and he’s beaten us. I can’t exactly predict the future but we’ll definitly come hunting for the Polish power again.”
