UFC superstar Israel Adesanya says he still wants to fight Jon Jones ... but, he doesn't need it to cement himself as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time.
The 32-year-old martial artist and middleweight champ stopped by the TMZ offices Thursday ... and talked about everything from his rivalry with Jones, Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington, whether he has a future in acting, his rise to superstardom and the money and fame that comes along with it, his awesome walk-out before the first Robert Whittaker fight, and so much more.
(Check out the full interview with Stylebender ⬇️)
On 34-year-old Jones ... we asked Adesanya if he still wanted to fight him, despite Jon moving to heavyweight and not having fought in over 2 years.
"We'll see. Time will tell," Israel told Babcock.
"I don't need it, but I do want it. I don't need it, though. People think I need it for my legacy."
You may remember ... in 2019, Jon commented he believed he would eventually fight Izzy. The men then went back and forth, igniting a rivalry that exists to this day.
Jones now resides in the heavyweight division (206-265 lbs.) ... while Izzy fights at middleweight (up to 185 lbs.).
We asked Israel -- who has flirted with fighting at heavyweight -- if that's the division where the fight would happen.
"Nah, I like light heavyweight. That's where he was dominant so I really wanna go light heavyweight."
Adesanya -- arguably the greatest striker in UFC history -- showed off some of his arsenal in the TMZ newsroom ... using a round kick to knock a cup off of Harvey Levin's head.
Don't worry, Israel's okay 😄😄😄
Bottom line ... Adesanya is a superstar in every sense of the word.