Jon Jones: I Want a Fight With a Lot of Risk

By Ben Fowlkes - Senior Writer

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Anderson Silva's bizarre performance against Demian Maia at UFC 112 was barely a few hours old when many in the MMA world had already turned their thoughts toward Jon Jones. With Jones fresh off a one-sided destruction of Brandon Vera in March, some wondered out loud whether the UFC's bright young light heavyweight prospect could be the man to force "The Spider" to bring his A-game once again. Maybe he could even be the man to give Silva his first loss in the UFC.

Another move up in weight seems plausible enough for Silva, but would Jones – who's still just 22 years old and has only two years as a pro under his belt – really want that fight?

In a talk with MMAFighting.com, Jones discussed the possibility of fighting the man who he considers his "idol," and offered some thoughts about who he'd like to face in his next UFC bout.

You mentioned on Twitter recently that a lot of people have suggested a fight between you and Anderson Silva.

I've heard that, yeah. I hear it a lot on my website. People say, 'Oh, you're the one to beat Anderson Silva.' I hear it quite often now.

Is that a fight you'd be interested in, assuming the UFC wanted to make it?

I'm really confident in myself, but I'm also real. I know that Anderson Silva is definitely ahead of me as far as skill and technique, and just experience-wise. But I think down the road, you know, a year or two, I would definitely take a fight against Anderson Silva. I'm big on confidence, and I just know that he's my idol. It would be an honor to fight him.

Dana White mentioned that he thinks you're about a year from a title shot, saying he wants to bring you along slowly and then put you up against top guys. He even mentioned Rashad Evans, who's your teammate at Greg Jackson's, specifically. What's your response to that?

I wouldn't fight Rashad for anything. He's my teammate and I feel like he allowed me to be a part of his team. Greg had a meeting with Rashad and Keith [Jardine] before he allowed me to be a part of Jackson's and they said it was okay with them. I could never betray them that way. It would be like biting the hand that fed me.

So who do you think the UFC will match you up against next?

I'm predicting a fight against someone like Ryan Bader, but I really wouldn't want to fight against Ryan. I think we're pretty close to the same spot career-wise. I wouldn't really want to fight someone who's in the same category as me. I'd rather fight someone who's really established, someone with a really big following, someone where there's a big risk of me losing the fight. I want to try and elevate and make it to the top as fast as possible. I just want a fight with a lot of risk.

Who would fit that description, in your mind?

I'm not one to call out anyone. I never call people out. But I'd like to have someone who's in the top ten, an established big name fighter. Someone like Forrest [Griffin] or [Antonio Rogerio] Nogueira or Rich Franklin. Someone up there in the top five or top 10. Someone where a win would be really huge for my career.

I feel like I'm at the point where a win over me would be big for someone's career, no matter who they are. I want to make sure it's the same for me, where if I win it will be huge for me as well.

So when you hear Dana say he'd rather bring you along slowly for the next year or so, do you think he's underestimating you? Or do you think he's just being patient?

I think it's a little bit of both, to be honest with you. I think he underestimates me a little bit, and I also think he doesn't really know what to do with me right now. I kind of came out of nowhere and I think he realizes he has to start taking me seriously soon. I don't think he was expecting a new threat in the division, and I think he's still trying to figure out what to do with me. I'll find out when I get my new opponent.

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Read More: ufc 112, mma fighting exclusive, news, Anderson Silva (MMA), Brandon Vera (MMA), Demian Maia (MMA), Jon Jones (MMA), Rashad Evans (MMA), Ryan Bader (MMA)

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