After countless pleas from MMA fans, Anderson Silva is finally warming up to the idea of fighting Jon Jones.
For months, Silva has downplayed the possibility of the super fight ever occurring.
Despite competing at light heavyweight on several occasions, he has never shown any real interest of making a run in the division.
The weight class is already crowded with several of Silva’s teammates, and Jones is simply the bigger, younger athlete.
With that said, Silva has never been one to back down from a challenge. What if UFC President Dana White offers the big money fight to Jones, and he chooses to accept?
Would Silva decline then?
SporTV spoke with the UFC middleweight champ on Thursday during a promotional event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“My weight is at 185-pounds, this is my title. But people talk so much, and we are UFC employees,” said Silva.
“Of course, I don’t want to be talking, but what if [Jones] accepts the fight with all the money Dana is offering? It would be difficult for me not to take the fight. It’s not the money that motivates me. I fight because I like it. So I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to do it, but if it happens, it would have to be at a catch weight without him putting his belt on the line. I already have my own title, and I don’t want to hold a title just to leave it there.”
Some will question Silva’s reasoning for wanting to take the fight at a catch weight, especially after his impressive light heavyweight performance against Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153.
According to Silva, he only agreed to the Bonnar fight as a favor to the UFC. The original main event was slated to be the featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, but after Aldo got injured, the UFC was forced to scrap the fight and look for a new headliner.
Silva understands the difficulties of going up in weight, and he would prefer to stay at 185-pounds. The question now becomes whether Jones could make the proposed catch weight.
At only 25 years of age, he is already a massive light heavyweight, who is on pace to one day compete in the heavyweight division. It’s highly unlikely he’ll risk his body to fight someone smaller, but a fight against Silva is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If Jones gets past Chael Sonnen in April, the UFC might finally have its main event for Cowboys Stadium.
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