Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is moving up to light heavyweight to face champ Jan Blachowicz. However Tyron Woodley thinks it is a little odd that Izzy did not try to go up and fight Jon Jones.
Like the rest of us, Woodley has been watching the beef between Jones and Adesanya unfold on social media. The two have gone back and forth, with Izzy saying that they will fight, but that he wanted to wait to move up in weight.
However that all changed when Jon vacated the 205lb belt to make a move to heavyweight, leaving Jan Blachowicz to claim the vacant belt. Now Adesanya will be moving up in March, to try becoming the next champ-champ in the UFC.
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Tyron Woodley Bashes Israel Adesanya
It seems that Tyron Woodley is not very impressed with Israel Adesanya’s decision to move up and fight Jan Blachowicz. The former welterweight champ said as much while speaking in a recent interview.
T-Wood feels like it is a bit strange for Adesanya to talk that much smack about Jon Jones, only to move up once Jon left the division. He says that if Izzy wanted to fight Jon, he should have done it when he had the chance.
“I thought (Adesanya) had some business to do in the middleweight division and he was going to wait, and the second Jon Jones moved up to heavyweight, he moved up to 205,” Woodley said.
“I can’t even think past the fact that he completely said that he was not going to 205 to fight Jon Jones… If you want to say you’re the best, now you’re going to go up to fight Jan, and you wouldn’t do it to fight Jon?
“That makes no sense. The payday is way different, and when someone talks and says they’re this or that, and then they get an importunity to go against the greatest of all time, and you said you have to wait two years? I don’t get it.”
That being said, Woodley makes it clear that Adesanya is his own man who can do what he wants. However he thinks it is questionable that Izzy wanted to wait to move up when Jon was champ, but changed his mind when Jon left the division.
“I think he should do whatever he want to do, but don’t go around talking crap about Jon and to Jon, and now Jon says ‘Okay, let’s go,’ and you’re like ‘Nah, I’ll get you in two years.’ But one year later Jon goes up and now you’re up.”
As far as the fight itself goes, Tyron Woodley says people are looking past Jan Blachowicz a bit, just assuming Adesanya will win. So he advised Jan to go out there and put it on Adesanya, and score the upset.
Do you agree with Tyron’s assessment on this situation?
