Jon Jones is in a war of words with Israel Adesanya ... and UFC star Corey Anderson says there's a good reason why he's doing anything he can to avoid fighting Anderson.
TMZ Sports got Anderson -- 7th ranked UFC lightweight -- at a media event for his management company, Dominance MMA ... and we asked him about a prospective fight with Jones.
"At this point I think he's just trying to avoid me. I showed up to one of his autograph signings, he wanted to crack jokes and everything.