White says thanks, but no thanks to Roy Jones vs. Anderson Silva
You have to admire Roy Jones Jr.'s chutzpah. The boxer is 40 years old, has never fought in a sanctioned MMA bout, and now he wants to face one of the sport's top fighters in the Octagon. Anderson Silva, who has expressed interest in boxing, is all for the fight with Jones, but the president of the company who holds Silva under contract? Not so much.
"You won't see a Silva versus Jones fight while Silva is under contract with me," Dana White said Tuesday. "I don't want to say anything bad about Roy Jones, I like Roy Jones and was a fan of his, but he mattered like fifteen years ago. He's not anywhere near the best boxer in the world. He must've spent all his money."
You can't blame White. There is already a fight set up for Silva in just a few months, a light heavyweight bout with former UFC champion Forrest Griffin. Beyond that, contenders Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt are waiting in limbo for their shot at the crown.
A Jones/Silva fight may be exciting for one night, but what happens after that? The UFC is loathe to sign one-fight contracts -- see Emelianenko, Fedor -- and I can't picture Jones wanting to climb the middleweight ladder for a chance to see Silva. Jones isn't even a guaranteed pay-per-view draw any more, as his fight with Joe Calzaghe reportedly drew less than 250,000 buys. There isn't much of an upside for this fight, so don't look for it to happen anytime soon.
