Anderson “The Spider” Silva’s vote for the greatest fighter competing today is in, and he’s selected UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones.
After making a triumphant return to the UFC Octagon after a 13-month layoff to defeat Nick Diaz at UFC 183, Silva scaled the cage and looked for a familiar face in the crowd. The former UFC middleweight king found his target in Jones, and the two briefly exchanged words.
MMAFighting.com’s Dave Meltzer reported on this interaction, and Silva was nothing but complimentary of the young phenom.
“When I talk to Jones, I say, bro, I like you bro,” Silva told MMA Fighting. “You need to change. All the kids are watching you, the families are watching you. You’re the best fighter now. You need to change everything.”
Silva is almost definitely referring to Jones’ most recent fall from grace.
Shortly after his definitive UFC 182 victory of the then-undefeated Daniel Cormier, news circulated that Jones had failed a drug test. An out-of-competition test showed traces of cocaine in Jones’ system, and the 205-pound champ checked into rehab for one night shortly thereafter.
To Silva, these transgressions can be forgiven, but Jones needs to clean up his act for himself and for his fans immediately.
And despite the serious offense, Silva feels that Jones is still a good friend and a respectable champion.
“Jones is my friend,” Silva said. “I talk to Jones all the time. He’s young. He has all the problems. All the people hear his problems. There are problems in the world. The people talk (that) this guy is bad. He’s not bad.”
Thankfully for Jones, there is plenty of time for him to revive his image and to present himself in a more positive light moving forward.
While he has already made a considerable impact on the sport and pieced together an impressive resume, Jones is just 27 years old, and he’s been competing professionally for less than seven years.
Now, he needs to take Silva’s words to heart and work on becoming as great outside of the cage as he is within the realm of combat.
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