Amidst rumors and tantalizing suggestions about a future fight with Jon Jones, Israel Adesanay stresses that he is okay with leaving the decision in the hands of the fans. As one of the most talked-about and anticipated potential UFC fights, many fans have been clamoring for Adesanay and Jones to settle their beef in the octagon, but the two have never met.

Despite the friendly compliments recently made by Jones towards Adesanay, the latter stresses that they don’t have a friendship and that they’ve never even had a conversation. Nevertheless, Adesanay maintains that he respects the former UFC light heavyweight champion’s skills and accomplishments.

While Adesanay was initially considering moving up to the 205-pound weight class, that speculation and hype never bore fruit. In the end, Adesanay’s challenge for the light heavyweight title against Jan Blachowicz didn’t pan out. At this point, Adesanay is not optimistic about the odds of an Adesanay-Jones showdown, even though their verbal sparring has been entertaining.

Adesanay cites the Anderson Silva-Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva-Jon Jones fights that never materialized, noting that sometimes the fights that are most desired don’t happen. For Adesanay, accepting that he and Jones won’t meet seems to be the mature and pragmatic approach.

Adesanay’s manager, Ash Belcastro, however, seems more bullish on the idea of the fight happening, given the opportunity for financial gain and the marketability of Adesanay and Jones. But ultimately, the decision rests with the fighters, and for Adesanay, he appears indifferent to the possibility of a clash with Jones.

Instead, Jones has been more engaged in talks about a crossover bout with heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury. Although the idea of boxing against someone like Fury would be daunting for most MMA fighters, Adesanay is optimistic about Fury’s chances of being competitive in the cage. However, he acknowledges that boxing and MMA are different sports, requiring different skills and strategies.

In the end, it seems that Adesanay is comfortable with letting the fans speculate and hold out hope for a Jones-Adesanay fight, even as it seems increasingly unlikely. For Adesanay, he is just focused on looking for challengers for his middleweight title, leaving the past behind.