UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort doesn’t see the point in having divisional top dog Anderson Silva fight welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, but he believes Silva vs. Jon Jones is at least logical.
“The Phenom” said as much with in an interview with Por Dentro de Arena (translation via Fighters Only):
“Anderson vs. GSP is meaningless. It would make sense if Anderson fought Jon Jones. Anderson is a fighter at another level. I’m not underestimating Jones but appraising Anderson. He’s one of the best that has existed, I always thought it. It is very nice to see his success. I know what he has gone through. Anderson is in a very high level and should defend his belt or fight for the light heavyweight title. I think he has a greater possibility to beat Jones. He would win on the feet.”
It should come as no surprise that Belfort offered high praise for his fellow Brazilian, as he suffered an infamous highlight-reel knockout when he fought “The Spider” at UFC 126 in Feb. 2011.
Of course don’t forget that Belfort has also been in the cage against Jones, the current 205-pound title holder, at UFC 152 in Sept.
While he came up short, he nearly armbarred “Bones” in the early moments of the fight.
His next appearance in the Octagon will be against perennial contender Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7, set for Jan. 19 at the Ibirapuera Arena in his homeland of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Silva vs. St-Pierre once again appears to be on hold, as “Rush” is looking at a March date with former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz, though the deal is not yet official.
Additionally, Silva, who last defended his title against Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 in July, has stated he doesn’t plan on fighting again until late next year.
He also said that he doesn’t plan on fighting Jones unless he gets 50 percent of the UFC, so needless to say, the fight seems unlikely.
However, Jones said this week he’s “not afraid” of Silva and would welcome the superfight if challenged.
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