Coach claims Jon Jones would prefer Jan Blachowicz over ‘Stylebender’ in potential return to 205: “Israel’s not the guy anymore”

Jon Jones’ coach says he would prefer Jan Blachowicz over ‘Stylebender’ in a potential return to 205, saying “Israel’s not the guy anymore.”

Jones and the UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya talked a lot of trash to each other over the last few years, and at one point in time, it seemed like a meeting between these two superstars was inevitable. However, with Jones moving up to the UFC heavyweight division, and with Adesanya losing to Blachowicz in his bid to become the promotion’s 205lbs champion, it appears as though there is not as much interest in this fight now. At least that’s what Jones’ coach Mike Winkeljohn claimed in a recent interview with Submission Radio, where the veteran striking coach explained what motivates Jones.

“At this point, it would be Jan. There’s no doubt about that. If Jon was motivated to go to 205, he wouldn’t want to fight Israel because Israel’s not the guy anymore. And Jon wants the challenge and also understands the real world. And that doesn’t make sense to me either,” Winkeljohn said of Jones (h/t MMAMania). “You can talk all you want, but that doesn’t mean you’re the best. It’s nice when you’re the best and you talk, maybe a little bit just to sell the match. But Jan would definitely be the one I would think. I’m not sure that jazzes Jon at the moment. Like I said, when Jon feels challenged and he wants to push, that’s when it gets really exciting for us to be around him and be at the gym.”

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Jones, Blachowicz, and Adesanya, but at this point, it does appear that Jones vs. Adesanya is a fight that likely won’t happen.

Do you agree that Jon Jones vs. Jan Blachowicz at 205lbs is the fight to make now, not against Israel Adesanya?