FanPost

Rather see Anderson Silva fight Jon Jones than GSP.

After Anderson Silva's destruction of Stephan Bonnar last night, Dana White teased the possibility of an Anderson Silva vs. Jon Jones super fight. I find this fight to be much more appealing than the previously discussed Silva-GSP super fight for several reasons.

  1. Anderson Silva is much heavier than GSP. Although Silva comfortably made weight for the Bonnar fight at 202 lbs, he routinely walks around at 215 to 220 lbs, while GSP walks around at 195 lbs. This is a major advantage for Silva in both size and strength. For years, GSP said that in order to go up to 185 lbs, he would need to bulk up further. He has been reluctant to commit to saying a move up would be permanent and there has been talk that the Silva-GSP fight would be at a 180 catch weight. Dropping an extra 5 lbs could potentially be a problem with Silva who has not fought below 185 in years. This is not taking anything away from GSP. It is more a case of the simple fact that Anderson would simply be bigger and stronger than GSP on fight night if he is able to recover from dropping 5 additional pounds he is not used to cutting.
  2. Do fans believe GSP has a realistic chance of beating Anderson Silva? Silva has shown one weakness which is take down defense against a great wrestler and GSP fits that bill. If GSP can take him down, then Anderson will have problems. However, can GSP keep Silva down the way a bigger, stronger, and more experienced wrestler like Chael Sonnen did against Silva. If GSP can't take Silva down, it will be a long night for GSP, with Silva holding the edge over him in the stand up game.
  3. Anderson Silva has fought at 205 three times. Dismantling all 3 opponents in the first round. GSP has never fought at 180 or 185. Silva wouldn't be going into unfamiliar territory in fighting Jon Jones. Again Silva walks around at 215-220 while Jon Jones walks around 225 to 230 lbs. Not as big of a weight difference and no mystery about whether Silva is big enough to compete at 205.
  4. Jones is the greater challenge for Silva. When fans and MMA historians go back and look at Anderson Silva's legacy, not fighting Jon Jones would leave a larger gaping hole than not fighting GSP. Win or lose, Silva will be remembered for taking on the biggest challenges in front of him. If he wins, he will be the only man to hold the 185 and 205 belts and cement his legacy as the greatest mixed martial artist of his era by a mile.
  5. If he fights Jon Jones and wins, it doesn't mean he has to stay at 205. Anderson Silva has mentioned not wanting to get in the way of his Black House teammates at 205. What if Silva won the title at 205, then vacated it to return to 185 lbs to finish his career? Even if he didn't vacate the title, at 37 years old, he will only have a few fights left. Glover Teixeira and Lyoto Machida will just have to wait their turn.
  6. Just my take that fans want Silva-Jones more than Silva-GSP. The match up would be on par with 1998 Michael Jordan vs. 2006 LeBron James. Ali vs. Mike Tyson. Ali vs. Joe Louis, and so on. Maybe the card that could top 2 million PPVs.
I hope this fight can happen and I believe Dana has at best a 2 year window to make it happen while Silva is still in his prime. Thoughts?

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