Jon Jones vs. Anderson Silva? Four reasons the fight between champs shouldn’t happen
Before UFC president Dana White even strapped the middleweight championship belt around Anderson Silva's waist, my Twitter timeline was filled with questions on when Silva would face light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.
White said, "Let's see what happens," in response to a question about the two champs fighting. With Silva walking around at around 215 lbs., size is not a problem. But it's still not a fight that should happen for these reasons.
1. It's a no-win situation for Jon Jones. If he wins, he was expected to win and defend his weight class. If he loses, does anyone give him a pass?
2. Silva doesn't need it to prove he's the greatest. He has moved up to light heavyweight twice before. Both times, he won in the first round. As detailed here, Silva has dominated since joining the UFC in 2006.
[Kevin Iole: Anderson Silva makes Chael Sonnen pay for his mistake]
3. It ties up both the middleweight and light heavyweight belts. Between injuries and time to prepare for fights and placing championship fights on the perfect cards, championship bouts don't happen enough. This fight would tie up two different belts as Silva and Jones prepared for their fight. Do you remember how long we had to wait around for Sonnen/Silva and Jones' bout with Rashad Evans?
4. Neither of them want the fight. When champs want to move across weight classes, they should at least want the fight to happen. Jones, who is preparing for his Sept. 1 fight against Dan Henderson, tweeted his lack of interest in a bout with Silva.
"Man my man #AndersonSilva went to work tonight, consistently amazing," Jones said. "I guess Anderson said he had no interest in fighting me at tonight's press conference, I feel the same way about him. Nothing but respect."
It has nothing to do with either man not wanting the challenge or "being afraid," as I'm sure will get mentioned in the comment section. It has to do with their focus on their own weight classes, and participating in fights that make sense for them.
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