Regardless of the outcome at UFC 153, there will be no future superfight between Anderson Silva and Jon Jones.
For months, the two MMA stars have shrugged off the possibility of fighting one another.
It’s all about respect for Jones, who says he doesn’t want to be the man to defeat Silva. The two have developed a bond, and neither wants to deter the other’s success.
Silva put the final nail in the coffin of the proposed superfight during the media conference call for UFC 153.
MMA Fighting reported the story.
“There’s been a lot of talk about me moving up to 205. I know Dana [White] has talked about it a lot. All the fans have talked about me moving up and facing Jon Jones, but it’s something I’ve never wanted,” Silva said.
Silva continues:
I won’t be pretentious to say that I’d want to move up, especially because there are other guys in that weight class on our team like [Rafael] “Feijao” Cavalcante and [Antonio Rogerio] ”Minotauro” Nogueira. There are other guys who could potentially face Jon Jones in the future. What got me this far is I’m grounded. My weight class is 185. I’m 37 years old, and I feel I need to be honest and continue what I’ve built, which is to keep defending my belt at 185.
Back in February, Silva told UOL Esportes that he wasn’t interested in a bout with Jones and was done moving up in weight. According to Silva, Jones is a much younger fighter who would have significant physical advantages over him.
Silva is set to make his third light heavyweight appearance in the UFC against Stephan Bonnar on October 13, but admittedly, he is only going up in weight as a favor to the UFC.
The featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar was originally slated as the main event, but after Aldo pulled out of the fight with an injury, the UFC scrambled to prevent the cancellation of another pay-per-view card.
Silva, who knocked out Chael Sonnen three months ago, was ready and willing to lend a helping hand:
Definitely, I’ve got that responsibility on my back. I’m part of the UFC family, and I believe that everyone can do what they can do to help. It was the case where the event might have been canceled, and I was just doing my part. If I felt I couldn’t do that or everyone came together and said I wasn’t in condition to do that, I wouldn’t have done it. But in that situation, I felt like I could step up and save the show.
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