In an era where super fights seem to be the norm now, one fantasy matchup that never came to be was one pitting former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion Anderson Silva against current Light Heavyweight king, Jon Jones.
While “Bones” is still ruling his division with an iron fist, Silva was once considered the best 185-pound fighter on the planet while he was dominating his opponents with relative ease to the tune of 10 consecutive title defenses.
So how would a fight between the two men have gone down had it taken place when they were both at the top of the sport? “The Spider” gave his surprising answer to ESPN.com during a recent interview.
“Jon Jones,” said Silva. “He’s an excellent fighter. I consider him like a younger brother and I believe he is the evolution of this sport.”
Indeed, had it not been for a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill, “Bones” would have a mint record, as he has yet to suffer a true loss in his pro mixed martial arts (MMA) career. As for Silva, he has dabbled in the 205-pound division, knocking out Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar and James Irvin, all in the first round.
A fight between Jones and Silva probably wouldn’t be as desired these days, as Jon (31) seems to be going up a level, while Silva (43) could be at the tail-end of his career.
Silva will look to show he still has plenty to offer the fight game when he faces off against Jon’s twin Israel Adesanya in the co-main event of UFC 234 this Saturday (Feb. 9, 2019) in Melbourne, Australia. As for “Bones,” he will look to defend his 205-pound strap against Anthony Smith at the upcoming UFC 235 pay-per-view (PPV) event on March 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As for a Jones vs Silva bout, we will always have this: