Jon Jones: I'm not saying Silva fight can't happen
Posted on October 29, 2012, 12:51 PM by Mike DrahotaWith the speculation of Anderson Silva's next bout at an all-time high, Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones has appeared to have taken a different stance from his previous denial of ever fighting Silva. Similar to the time when he vowed to never fight former training partner and mentor Rashad Evans, Jones has made somewhat of a switch with his words today, something he has regrettably become known for:
"I respect [Silva] a lot. As I said several times, I do not want to be the guy who beat Anderson, and do not want to be the guy who lost to him. Anderson is a great champion, I'm a great champion. We both...I don't know. I don't know. I'm not saying that the fight will not happen. It can happen. But it's not something I'm chasing.” via BloodyElbow.com
So Jones is already singing a different tune, recovering from the brutal armbar of Vitor Belfort that has him on the shelf nursing an elbow injury. He is set to coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter versus Chael Sonnen, and the two will meet in a highly publicized April 27th title fight. But beyond that, assuming Jones wins as the massive favorite, fans will be absolutely clamoring for the superfight. And of course Dana White will be all for it, with potentially the largest payout in MMA history available for the taking. Sure, it's all speculation at this point, and Jones closed by saying:
"I don't believe that I need to fight with Anderson to be the best in the world."
Best in the world, perhaps not, but best ever? Probably.
Comments
I'm going to go out there and say, after hearing this, I believe the fight no one thought would happen will happen.
I know it's different from the Rashad situation but same premise - one guy says maybe and the other says maybe.
A couple of fights later and we might have a superfight announcement.
@ Keith....
The earliest we could expect to see Anderson vs Jones is probably 6 months after the Chael fight which would be October, 2013. Anything could happen between then and now and we still haven't got confirmation from uncle Dana. Dana said the fedor thing would happen and he said he offered ridiculous amount of money.
Is the same tactic going to work to persuade Silva who doesn't need the money.
Fedor thing was different, he had management who would refuse to do the deal unless they go co-promotion.
I see your point though, things sure do change quick in the MMA world.
Jones vs Silva would be the biggest fight in MMA!
the only fight that can be as big as this one would be Overeem vs Dos Santos, but Jones vs Silva would still be bigger! in terms of PPV's
and what is at stake.
GSP vs Silva is just a mismatch, would be the same as GSP vs Frankie when Frankie was the Champ.
Jon Jones vs Anderson Silva needs to happen.
If Silva could somehow manage to go down, beat GSP and then go up and beat Jones, it would be hard to imagine anyone ever surpassing that.
Unfortunately it will probably be on fight or the other
KFC double shot
I feel if he fights GSP first and wins convincingly, than the Jones fight becomes more important. If he fights Jones first win or lose the GSP fight becomes irrelevant. This is why i prefer the GSP fight now. I think that match increases the odds of both happening.
That would be awesome. Will never happen unfortunately though.
My only concern is time. With Jones doing TUF I don't see how they can get this fight together before AS retires. He only has what, two fights left?
Good point Choke, forgot about the long layoff Jones has. Maybe it is Silva's retirement fight?
He only has 2 fights left on his current contract. He has said that he will probalby fight for another 5 years. This is somthing that could happen and i feel should happen but i dont seen it actually coming to fruition.
Yeah, I thought I heard him say that in an interview last year but since then it seems like all the talk I've heard is about retiring soon. I hope he fights for a few more years. He has taken so little damage and still seems to be improving.
The end comes quick Choke. I'd rather see him retire early than see him go the RJJ route. Roy took very little damage for most of his career also.
Very true. I think he has a few more good years though.
Agreed. Fortunately for me, The G.O.A.T/Jones will never happen :)
PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE let this fight happen! I am calling it now. Anderson Silva victorious in round three via TKO.
I would love it if Silva beat him in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd but as long as he does it in a dominate way.
Let Jones Ruminate on the loss for a while - in the long run the loss would help with Jones humility.
If Jones were to beat Anderson I would be a little sad for the GOAT but hey he's taking a huge risk going up against a young, larger champ so props to him either way - if this happens.
It's all about....THE MONEY...MONEY....MONEY....MONEY! I just want your MONEY MONEY ! Its not the world fame but its all about the Tag price.
Jon Jones is far from being 'a great champion'. What planet is on?
Are you saying the notion of Jon being a great champion is illogical, or being cynical about the thought of him not being a great champion?
It's not illogical but it's a little too soon and a little too much. We cant just keep tagging fighters as great based on their peak performance. Performances plateau and we must be more patient in our judgement.
Right now Jon Jones is at his peak and no doubt, he is unbeatable but he is yet to pass the test of time, test of injuries, test of handling a defeat or a tough fight.
Another important point to bear in mind is that Great Champions never call them selves "Great" and this guy cannot stop talking about how great he is and how concerned he is about his great legacy. Seriously, what planet is he on?
The problem with your argument is Jon is already great. Nobody has the top tier wins he does, nobody has had the dominance he has shown in the LHW division, and more importantly the only time he has looked beatable was a 4 second period in which he was in an armbar. What you pointed out are all fine well and good, but they are not what determines if a fighter is great or not. How a competitor fares against elite competition is what determines if they are great, and Jon has already faced and beaten the pinnacle division in MMA had had to offer. Chuck Liddell was a great champion, Wanderlei Silva was a great champion, Mauricio Rua was a great champion; Jon Jones has already surpassed them all.
Calling himself great might not be a modest thing to do, but it is certainly accurate. The only question that really remains is how great he will be. If he beats Sonnen than he ties the UFC record for title defenses at LHW (in an era that dwarfs Tito's). It's already arguable that he is the best LHW of all-time, and if/when he beats Sonnen that legacy is pretty much cemented.
The fact that he is almost just getting started only means he could be the greatest of the greats, not that he isn't great already.
@Evan
Great argument - you're spot on.
Evan he has beat some great fighters but I wouldnt call the LHW division the pinnacle division in MMA. That rightly belongs with LW and WW but LHW is certainly not far behind in terms of depth and quality.
azzkika- You are entitled to your opinion, but LHW is most certainly the pinnacle division in MMA history (which is what I was saying if anybody was misunderstanding). Right now, you could make an argument for any division in the UFC. However, remember that just because 155 doesn't have a dominant champion right now doesn't mean its any tougher than 205. It just simply means nobody exists at 155 like Jones at 205 (or Anderson at 185, Cruz at 135 etc.).
Beyond the top 6 at LHW the division isnt really that stacked at LW it is endlessly stacked.
I agree with most of what you wrote Holober but Jones looked pretty beatable in round one against Machida too.
Choke- Machida definitely edged him, but isn't Anderson beatable than if you take into account rounds against Maia, Henderson and Chael?
Grandslam, The Great Muhammad Ali called himself " The G.O.A.T" many times, therefore I have no problem with Jones calling himself a great champion.
"I'm not the Greatest; I'm the double Greatest.
To be a great champion, you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.
I'm the greatest, I'm a bad man, and I'm pretty!
I'm just the greatest boxer.
I AM THE GREATEST!”
― Muhammad Ali
just wanted to chime in you hit your peak between 28-30, Jon dosnt even have his man strength yet.
Valid points. My argument is that greatness will come with time. Let that happen. performance Plateau is a very natural phenomena and every professional will experience that.
Our problem is that we are willing to award the trophy of greatness based on peak performance phase of an athlete. This is where we need to hold our horses and wait for Jones to perform when he goes downhill which he will, very soon. I am sure we all have seen a number of athletes performing extremely well during their hay days and then being lost in the oblivion as soon as they hit a low.
Therefore, lets wait and watch.
So you judge a fighter's greatness based on the downside of the bell curve? Your criteria for greatness would leave all the "greats" out of contention. Father time works differently for everyone.
Tyson would not even register on his greatness scale.
Exactly azz and lowballer.
don't understand how he can say he doesn't think he has to beat anderson to be the greatest of all time.....clearly, beating anderson silva would definitely cement you as definitely being up there in the top 5 without a shadow of a doubt.
Iones beat the number one in the world P 4 P or loose to
the number one in the world P 4 P Jones still young and talented of course he would take the fight but Anderson liif happen to be loose before retire !
Neither of them have to lose. If Jones wins then it was because of his size and youth. If Anderson wins then Jones lost to the goat. Money changes hands and legacies are intact either way. Make this fight happen!
Not really. Jones should theoretically win as he is as more skilled, more dominant and younger, bigger and more well rounded. The only edge Silva really has in this fight is his striking which is unmatched in MMA so a loss for Jones would mean he could never surpass Silva regardless of if he won another 50 fights straight after a loss to Silva so he has an awful lot to lose whereas if Jones wins everyone will say he was bigger (which is debatable IMO) and older and forever claim a younger Silva would have beaten Jones.
Either way Jones fans will be Jones fans and the haters will hate and always find one excuse or another to belittle Jones. The fact Jones has made this statement demonstarates he is:
1) Respectful of Silva and would prefer not to fight him.
2) Confident of his own abilities should this fight happen and prepared to take the fight if necessary.
Silva's statements show:
1) He is respectful of Jones and prefer not to fight him.
2) Not confident in his own abilities should this fight happen and not prepared to take this fight if necessary.
By necessary i mean the entire MMA world screaming out for it which it kinda is right now.
believe me, if the money is right, jon is taking this fight in a heartbeat...its anderson who im not sure about
Well Jones only fights 185p now so if not Silva then who, Bisping next for Jones?
Did I really just read a post saying Jones is not a great champion?
He is a great champion and if he meets Silva will beat another great champion.
Im tired of people saying Bones is perfect I disagree there was a point in the Rampage fight he turned and literaly ran instead going toe to toe round one vs Machida far rom perfect round one vs Rashad he wasnt dominting nobody Belfort almost beat him with a broken hand he couldnt finish Bonnar...Hes a great champ but he has alot ahead of him.Don't get me wrong but one reason I love this sport is anything can happen and yes in my opinion he is the best lightheavweight champ so far but if you want to be pound for pound the greatest first stop picking and choosing you fights it defeats the purpose of Joe Silva and the fans second to be the best you gotta beat the best and Andersons the best.
Bruce Lee died of an aneurysm due to mixing medcation (antibiotics and muscle relaxers).-Chuck Norris
Anti-biotics and muscle relaxants? I do that all the time.
Picking and choosing? Do you even know how many ducked him? Even DW has a point for once when he said Sonnen was the only one prepared to step up and WANTED to fight Jones. The rest um and ar but refused to sign the dotted line when chance arose.
Silva seems to be the one picking and choosing his fights, not Jones.