Jon Jones on Thiago Silva: I'd love to give him a slap in the face
Posted on January 7, 2011, 01:33 AM by Joey SantosusTensions seemed to run high between Thiago Silva and Brandon Vera throughout much of their UFC 125 match-up, as the two made verbal exchanges and took turns throwing up their arms at one another. However, as the bout progressed it was clear who was the dominant fighter on this night, as Vera struggled to find an answer for the Brazilian's relentless ground and pound. Then, late in the third round, Silva appeared to bring the taunts to another level, alternating between drumming on Vera's back and slapping the side of his face.
While its not the first time a competitor has resorted to such antics inside the octagon, at least one fighter took exception to Vera's behavior. Fellow Light Heavyweight Jon "Bones" Jones immediately took to his Twitter account and voiced his thoughts on the matter.
"Wow that slapping was so disrespectful.. id love to give him a slap in the face."
In the days since Jones has elaborated on the comments, explaining that it was not a personal rivalry, but a matter of disrespect among professionals.
"It kind of bugged me, only because we all fight, and just losing alone is humiliating enough. It's embarrassing. If someone ever did that to me, where they would beat me like that and then drum on my back, I would be humiliated. Just absolutely humiliated. Think about all the people who watched those fights. All his fans, all the members at his school, all the kids that look up to him. Man, it just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It's not something I would ever want done to me and it's not something I would ever do to someone else."
"It came out afterwards that he said he slapped him to try and get him to open up, and I do believe that he was looking for an opening, but at the same time he was having a little fun, too," said Jones. "There's ways of looking for an opening besides playing pattycake on a guy's back."
Although both competitors currently compete at Light Heavyweight, a potential showdown would be unlikely to happen anytime soon. Silva's unanimous decision victory over Vera makes him 2-2 in his last four outings, while Jones is currently set to face Ryan Bader at UFC 126 in a bout that is likely to have title implications for the winner.
Source | Photo: MMAFighting.com
Comments
That would be a great fight, Jones hasn't faced anyone near thiago's level.
You are wrong.
Matyushenko is a great fighter, Jones just made him look bad.
Thiago is a high level fighter witout a doubt, But I don't think his style would even give Jon Jones a problem, just because he outwrestled Vera doesn't mean he's a true wrestler, so I see Jones GnPin him out like his last few fights. probably just as quick, not to mention if Thiago could keep it on the feet Jones would enjoy a 10 inch reach advantage.
It would be a great fight. I'm not denying Jones talents and skill, but really he has not beaten a guy of Thiagos caliber yet. Thiago is very well rounded, strong strikes, and sound on the ground. Its very unlikely that Jones would just take him down and pound him out. If you think that then you are giving Jones way to much credit or giving Thiago way to little. I say that if he doesn't walk through Bader, but still gets a win, make that fight happen.
Jones would easily take him down and pound him out. Thiago isn't even that great, he only beat Vera due to his strength advantage and being able to hold him down. Vera's way better on his feet. And Jones is light years ahead of Thiago in grappling. I'd love to see Jones take that guy to school. I never thought Thiago was something special anyway. If Jones can throw around Matt hamil like that, and everyone else he's faced. he would easily make Silva another rag doll.
I think you are over valuing Jon Jones natural talents. Silva is a BJJ blackbelt and I have yet to seen him look bad on the ground.
he meant to say that he wants slap in the face from Thiago Silva too
The three fights for T. Silva I would like to see would b Silva vs Rampage, Silva vs Jones or Silva vs Lil Nog....any of those fights would b sick
Yeah always thought about how much trouble T. Silva would give my boy Page! Would be an awesome bout!
not to mention jones pounded vera out way faster than thiago
Matyushenko is a great fighter. However, he is 40 years old and Thiago is in his prime. I do not think they are on the same level at this point in their careers.
I'm with you on this... I think many are not familiar with Matyushenko and only know him from the beating he took from Jones. Not to mention the sub-par treatment he has received from the UFC.
In fact, it would be tough to pick a winner between Thiago and Vladimir.
Matyushenko is a tough fighter, and a serviceable fighter. Great he has never been. Thiago Silva is probably a top 10 fighter, and a killer. I think Evilways is right.
I think you are wrong. i dont think Matyushenko is anywhere close to T Silva,....
but Jones is one dangerous MF
I would easily pick Vlad over Thiago. He wouldn't get pushed around so easily like Brandon did.
I think Thiago Silva starches Matyushenko. He's leagues better on the feet. And yea, Vladdy is a good wrestler, but I don't see him outwrestling and decisioning Silva either. I think Silva is the better all around fighter, and far more dynamic finisher. Give me Thiago Silva in that fight
i'm picking Jon Jones to beat Ryan Bader.
If Jon Jones happens to lose, then i think a fight with Thiago Silva would make sense.
That would and the winner of that fight could be in line for a title fight (although this is the 205lb division so that's hard to say now because there's like 6 guys who all can make a case for a title shot soon)
Good point, if he beats Bader the Thiago fight would make great sense! I just find it funny that MMA news is starting to turn into gossip when there isnt much to report on.... I mean Bones Jones said this hours after the fight, and they are posting it now because its a slow day of news - haha!
No its being posted now because just yesterday he sat down and discussed the issue for the first time.... Gossip would have been to run out and post it as soon as he made one little comment on Twitter.
Thanks for the assistance, but we got this : )
Thats whats up Boyiiieee!
Closest/best chance of winning the title would be Rampage and the winner of Jones vs Bader. Jones nor Bader have that huge win the catapult them to clear title contention so i really hope winner of Jones vs Bader fights Rampage for title shot
If Jones somehow loses, I like this fight as well... However in the mean time, I would love to see Thiago fight Rampage. I do realize that with Rampage defeating Machida, he is way higher up the ranks, but what a fight it would be... And considering the fact that Rampage prefers to exchange, it seems logical... Well, at least better than challenging James Toney lol
I can't think of a LHW matchup I'd rather see. I think it would be fight of the night for sure. Both guys are so agressive.
Yup. I think it would be a throwdown! Hopefully Jackson can resort to his "Take a lickin' and keep on tickin'!" Phrase.
I think the UFC definitely wants rampage fighting for top contender status or the belt, most likely before Jon Jones gets a shot. Especially since Shogun and Rashad are fighting for a belt and those are two guys he has already fought, and if Rashad wins it poses dilemas for Jones. Also there are so many solid guys at LHW, I think it would be wise if the UFC let Jones fight 2 or 3 more of them, including a former champ like Machida, before a shot.
However, this is starting to feel like Fedor vs Werdum to me, where EVERYBODY is completely overlooking Bader and over hyping Jones, I have a funny feeling Bader gets the W
Jones will beat Bader. I don't see where Bader can cause him any problems.
Me either. Jones seems like a lot for anybody right now though.
The palm strikes wasn't disrespectful like how he is making it seem
na he was taking the piss, very disrespectful. but damn veras face didnt look good after.
vera got cut by the ufc
Jones is right, but he should have left it at just calling it disrespectful. If he enters a war of words with Silva he is just lowering himself to his level, and he is better than that. Even if Vera deserved it, which I am sure he did, it was an amateur move on Silva's part to do what he did during the fight. He needs to grow the "F" up.
Silva is always an ass when he gets into competition mode! Thats why him and page would be awesome!!! Just imagine the stare down....EPIC!!!
that would rival the Rampage Wanderlei staredowns
Downward elbow strikes are also disrespectful
No they are not. It is a stupid rule for one but more importantly it is a strong technique that tells your opponent "I feel the need to hurt you before you hurt me" whereas slapping tells your opponent "I do not respect you as a fighter and I can just play with you". There is a huge difference between the two.
No matter what it does, it's disobaying the rules in a fight where clear rules where set, no matter how stupid they are disobaying them i see as disprespect towards the rules, sport and opponent, to cheat yourself a way to victory
Heat of the moment man. There is a difference between braking a rule and showing disrespect.
Its instinct IMO. Jones probably wasn't even thinkin while he "killed" Hamil. (I HATE Matt Hamil)!!!!
No probably Silva wasn't thinking; ''I HATE Brandon Vera'' either
Look don't get me wrong i don't condone bitchslapping someone in a fight, that's absolutely ridiculous
But IMO disregarding the rules is a lack of respect too and if it's instinct then it's even worse then you don't belong in the sport if you can't discipline yourself
Yeah I hear ya, but its like when you see someone want to go for a head kick to a downed opponent or even kneeing a downed opponent. It nots always an act of disrespect but more about the heat of the moment. According to you, that would mean most fighters should not belong n mma for being too aggressive? You see it all the time done unintentionally by great fighters who have tons of fighting discipline. Shit happens!
He even said he would do it again
really getting sick and tired now of hearing fighters talking shit to each other on twitter. just work your way up the ladder and be thankful for any top opponents you get given to prove yourself against.
Haha yea I agree. Those guys are real fighters. They don't have to text tough or rather tweet... tough?
Thiago isnt in the same area as Bones Jones in my opinion. If they fought I think Jones will Judo trip him and land elbows for the TKO victory
Thiago and Jones would make a lot of sense, I mean Thiago has lost to Rashad and Machida, Machida became champion after his fight with Thiago and Rashad beat Rampage and is now waiting to face Shogun for the title while Jones has been working his way up to those kinds of fights but has never faced guys like Rashad or Machida.
If Jones can walk through a guy like Thiago then it shows he is at the same level of fighters like Rashad, Machida, Rampage etc. I believe he is ready but there is no way to prove that just yet and throwing him against top 5 guys before he is ready is HUGE mistake.
The way Jones road to a tile shot should look imo.
Bader
Thiago
Top 5 guy
Title fight.
I Swear Randy did the same thing to Tito in there fight and Tito was claiming Randy was tapping out LOL
Randy spanked Tito and it was funny because Tito is a D^(k.
thiago is a monster!
his gnp of vera was the highlight of the night for me haha
him vs bones would be dope, hope it happens
I think Jones is just trying to talk himself into a fight, nothing more and heres why.
1. Vera is not Jones team mate. I see no reason why he should want to back him up.
2. Vera is a huge shit talker. Jones of all people should know that. He got what was coming to him this time.
3. I don't hear Jones calling out his team mate Rashad for clowning, playing with his nipples, and dancing like a monkey in the ring. Is that not disrespectful?
4. Rashad has talked about wanting to nto just beat his opponents, but embarrass them. This is Jones team mate who he says he respects and will never fight.
5. The reason Thiago was slapping in the first place was to avoid breaking his hands on the titanium hardware in Vera's face. It's Jones fault that titanium shit is there in the first place. (I'm kidding)
ahahahh #5, i never thought of that.
JONES VS SILVA would be amazing
I need too see this fight! I still think a healthy Thiago can probably wipe out the entire LHW division.
im so tired of jon jones good boy shit. Everything is disrespectful to this fool....so he slap the guy a few times so wat this is MMA
i dont think i like jones anymore after hearing he used to rat on kids for smoking pot in high school hes a ****in preppie farget that bieng said i dont think its a good match up for silva
Is this true, was he really snitching folks out, if so he needs to be slapped across the face with a pound Lavender Kush
i know right with a name like bones jones this dude would rollin fattie jitz blunts but hes a ****in snitch and a huge PC dooshbeeeeeggg
johnny can take him down slap him around a lil bit, give him a wet willy, a wedgie and still have time to knock thiago out in tha first round
I think a slap might have smashed Vera's nose, which means it was an effective strike.
Thiago Silva obviously takes fighting personally, like a favela tough guy. His throat-slitting motions after he wins leave little doubt about that. But Silva has devastating hands and he is a BJJ black belt and he puts on exciting fights.
I would love to see Bones Jones vs. Thiago Silva, but that is unlikely in the near future unless Jones loses to Bader.
If he was repeatedly punching he might have finished him. The slaps were unnecessary.
it was the lefthook from behind after a sharp elbow from vera.
jones would get smashed on, thiago is a savage, and he is always fighting savage people, jones is not on his level and i think bader is gonna prove it.
I disagree a tad. Jone's ground game seems slick. And we'll see against Bader. If he can hold his own against Bader he'll defiantly be able to neutralize Thiago (in the striking). I believe with his reach and athleticism he'll be able to get the upper hand against Thiago. Plus he did finish Vera, while TS was having a hard time finishing.
How can you say Thiago would stand a chance against Jones? Sure, he's got power and is an excellent fighter, but will he be able to use that power? Jones has an 84.5 inch reach, Silva won't be able to get in range to fire his bombs. Also, people are saying Jones hasn't fought anyone credible, how is Matt Hamill not a credible fighter? He knocked the **** out of Vera, and broke his face. Thiago only managed to do that in three rounds. I just can't see Jones losing to anyone at the moment, espicially not a wild swinger in the form of Ryan Bader.
Oh, Tito's an arsehole, just saying.
I'm starting to like Jones
i belive that silva would win by ko but jon jones is a bad dude but thiago sliva has power like nobody hes ever face before but jon jones is very good at just about everything
How is Thiago Silva on a different level than Jon Jones, if Jones finished Vera, but Silva wen the distance with him? How do you guys explain that ??