Anderson Silva made it clear in an interview with the New York Post that he wants a fight with Jones before he hangs up the gloves. The catch? It’s not the Jones everyone has in mind.
“The Spider” stated that he has always eyed a fight with boxing legend Roy Jones, Jr., and that fight piques his interest more than superfights with fellow UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones.
“I think everyone’s got something they’re focused on and that’s my own desire, something I’d like to do,” Silva said through a translator. “Maybe one day when I’m done my UFC career I will box Roy Jones … “That’s something I’d really be interested in, maybe [UFC president] Dana [White] should do this fight.”
Silva, who is 16-0 inside the Octagon and owns the UFC middleweight record with 10 successful title defenses, said in an ideal world, he’d like to fight Jones Jr. in both a boxing match and an MMA bout.
When asked on his feelings about fighting either welterweight kingpin GSP or light heavyweight top dog Jon Jones, Silva was far less enthusiastic.
“You can think, think, think or look for things, but never find it,” Silva said. “It’s hard for me to guess on that.”
The Brazilian’s comments are quite interesting considering a recent report by The Wrestling Observer’s, Dave Meltzer, which stated that the UFC is looking to have a superfight card at Cowboys Stadium in October, via Bloody Elbow.
One of the fights Meltzer mentions being considered is Silva vs. Jon Jones in a light heavyweight bout; however, that seems to be in limbo at best based on Silva’s recent comments.
Of course, those plans would be all for naught if Silva loses his title to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 this July. Apparently, GSP believes that Weidman pulling off the upset is a forgone conclusion, via MMA Junkie.
The 44-year-old Jones Jr. is one of boxing’s greatest of all time, boasting an unheard of 56-8 record and capturing championships in four different weight classes.
Just when it seemed that age had caught up to him, losing three fights between 2009 and 2011, Jones Jr. has since added two more victories to his resume, one of which earned him the WBO Intercontinental Cruiserweight title.
Meanwhile “Bones” Jones tied the UFC light heavyweight record set by Tito Ortiz when he defended his belt for the fifth time against Chael Sonnen last month, and currently seems to be eyeing a fight with Alexander Gustafsson next.
Will we ever see Silva fight fellow dominant champions St-Pierre of Jones inside the Octagon, or are these fantasy matchups simply too good to ever be true?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
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