There has long been talk about a showdown between former boxing king Roy Jones Jr. and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. It was brushed off in the past because Jones is a boxer, and Silva is an MMA fighter signed exclusively to the UFC.
Fighters contracted to the UFC have never done crossover fights with other promotions, much less been allowed to compete in another sport altogether outside of events like jiu-jitsu tournaments.
Regardless, whenever the possibility of the fight is brought up to Silva, he maintains his passion to faceoff against the boxing legend. He believes a win against Jones Jr. would be a bigger addition to his resume than even facing the likes of Georges St-Pierre or Jon Jones.
“I believe a fight against Roy Jones Jr. would be much better,” Silva said during an interview with MMA Junkie. “I think my legacy is already complete.”
UFC president Dana White isn’t sure why Silva has talked about fighting the former boxing champion for so long. He just knows it’s something that Silva is quite serious about doing before his career is over.
“It makes no sense to me. These guys, when they grew up they had their heroes, or whatever their deal is, it’s like something they want to do or accomplish,” White told the media on Thursday about the potential bout between Silva and Jones. “It’s something Anderson wants to do.”
With Silva re-signed to the UFC for multiple fights, and his career all but solidified as ending in the Octagon, there’s no change a fight with Jones could happen…or is there?
In an interesting side note to all the talk about the fight, White revealed that Jones Jr. would actually be in attendance at UFC 162 on Saturday night. He also plans on speaking to Jones Jr. during the evening’s festivities, although he would not reveal if there was a real shot that he could sign a boxer to the UFC’s roster.
“Roy and I are talking,” White stated. “Roy’s coming here Saturday.”
The UFC did bring in former heavyweight champion James Toney to compete in his only MMA bout. He was quickly dismantled and submitted by UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture at UFC 118 in 2010.
Silva and Jones Jr. have always talked about boxing one another, but it’s hard to believe that the UFC would actually promote a boxing match between the two fighters.
It’s also noteworthy that Jones Jr. is 44 years of age. After spending years as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, he went 4-4 over his last eight fights. Jones Jr. last competed in the ring in June 2012 in a fight in Poland against Pawel Glazewski.
It will still be interesting to see what White will talk to Jones about on Saturday and if his name will come up again should Silva walk out victorious from his fight with Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC 162.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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