Jon Jones vs Anderson Silva

[Gregoire]

Simple question:whoisbetter, more dominant and would win head-to-head?

[cb4_89]

How is that a simple question?

It could go either way. In a 205 pound fight, if Jones can take Silva down without getting KOd, he wins. He doesn't have Sonnen pillow hands and Silva would get wrecked on the ground. Just as easily Silva could KO Jones while he shoots for a take down. The longer the fight went on, the more likely Silva clips JBJ with something.

[Jasen777]

Jones would be a large favorite head-to-head. He's simply the larger guy, at least as athletic, and a far, far superior wrestler.

Now I don't think that says anything about who's better or more dominant. They have weight classes for a reason.

[NO-KG-AI]

Jones would wreck him head to head. I don't feel like it's an indictment on Silva though. Silva could fight at 185 and 205. Could Jones fight at 185? Doubt it. He's simply a much bigger guy who shouldn't be getting fed middleweights.

It's not really a "superfight" if one guy is so much bigger that the other almost HAS to meet at his weight.

Doesn't say anything about Silva's legacy if he can't fight Jones. They've both pretty thoroughly wrecked their division, but I'm a little biased as a fan of the LHW division... so I like Jones' run, but Anderson's streak (isn't it 16 right now?) speaks for itself.

[K1NG]

To add emphasis to their size difference, Anderson was fighting at 168 lbs at the beginning of his career and eventually made his way up to the 185 division. Jones debuted at 205 lbs and could be fighting at Heavyweight as early as next year.

Anderson also just turned 38 two weeks ago.

[REDDzone]

I don't think this fight would be competitive. I imagine it looking how I remember Bones/Vera looking. A manhandling, then a face breaking.

[Harvz]

To me it would be an unfair fight, and an injustice to one of the best fighters the planet has every seen.

Whatever about their respective combat skills, its Jones' reach that would be the biggest factor IMO. He's shown lately that he can dominate talented big close combat guys, but the way he kept opponents at bay earlier in his career just can't be overlooked. I reckon he'd pick Silva apart from a distance and if/when Silva got too close or took him to the ground, he'd slaughter him once he got position.

Jon Jones is my favorite fighter, and I'd support him beating on anybody... but it wouldn't be a wise match up for the ages. Some legends are better left alone rather than put so far out of their comfort zone just for a paycheque for the money men.

[Cammo101]

The only thing that makes this a fight worth making is if Anderson fights Jones at 205 for the title in an attempt to be the first guy to hold 2 belts at the same time. This way if Silva loses, it would not tarnish his legacy.

A meet at the middle fight at 195 just wouldn't be fair to Silva, because Jones would be 235 on fight night.

[CPT]

Jones wins head to head, but IMO it would be his toughest fight yet. Silva may not make it to the final bell, but he'd put up a better fight than anyone else, I think. He's not going out like Brandon Vera, come on. The reach advantage is something, and Jones has great striking, but I think Silva would be able to make him miss enough times to have a chance to land something of his own. Jones could probably do a rich man's version of Sonnen's performance in Silva/Sonnen 1 though, so I'd still favour him heavily, but I wouldn't write off Anderson Silva's chances against anyone, period.

As for legacy, Silva still has the all-time points, by a decent margin, but at Jones' age, it seems like more of a question of when, than if he will be the greatest ever.

[REDDzone]

I mean of course it would depend on Jones gameplan, but I don't think he'd even stand with him long enough to make him miss or whatever. I think he'd start with the ragdolling immediately. Fling him to the ground and land some GnP and that'd be about all she wrote.

Just too much size difference.

[Starkiller]

Using Sherdog math: Jones just destroyed the one man to ever even hurt/threaten Silva. And did it in the very way Sonnen did Silva.

[SDM]

I mean of course it would depend on Jones gameplan, but I don't think he'd even stand with him long enough to make him miss or whatever. I think he'd start with the ragdolling immediately. Fling him to the ground and land some GnP and that'd be about all she wrote.

Just too much size difference.

I agree. I think that weird Asian split rounds thing would favor Silva if he survives the grappling portion. I don't think anyone lasts five minutes with Silva striking unless he wants them to.

[High 5]

Using Sherdog math: Jones just destroyed the one man to ever even hurt/threaten Silva. And did it in the very way Sonnen did Silva.

On the flip side, Silva kicked Belfort's head off.

[REDDzone]

True but was that TRT Vitor? (semi-serious question)

[Starkiller]

Using Sherdog math: Jones just destroyed the one man to ever even hurt/threaten Silva. And did it in the very way Sonnen did Silva.

On the flip side, Silva kicked Belfort's head off.

Jones beat him too.

Sherdog math is funny.

[Headliner]

Jones wins.
In a kickboxing match, Silva wins.
But this isn't kickboxing, so Jones wins by head smash.

Personally I want to see Jones leave 205 and go to heavyweight in a big way. I'm bored of him at 205.
I want to see Silva go to 205 and matchup vs Shogun, Evans, Hendo
and I want to see Machida down at 185.

[High 5]

Using Sherdog math: Jones just destroyed the one man to ever even hurt/threaten Silva. And did it in the very way Sonnen did Silva.

On the flip side, Silva kicked Belfort's head off.

Jones beat him too.

Sherdog math is funny.

You were pointing out how Jones was more impressive beating Sonnen, I was pointing out how Silva was more impressive beating Vitor. (Bonnar, too) Vitor very nearly finished Jones. Just playing devil's advocate, though. I'd favor Jones for sure.

[RalphWiggum]

I don't know why people are saying Jones is so much bigger than Silva. Jones walks around at about 230 and Silva at 220. Jones is 6'4" Silva is 6'2". Jones has the reach advantage which he would have over 99.9999% of people on the planet regardless of weight and its not like Silva has T-Rex arms, he actually has a longer reach than most of Jon's previous opponents. Don't get me wrong I know Jones is a naturally larger man but people seem to be making this out to be Tiger vs Leopard type match up which is a gross exaggeration of the facts. I wouldn't bet any money against Jones but I've seen Machida look decent in spots and Belfort almost pull the upset against Jon and Silva at least IMO is far superior to either of those fighters even fighting a class higher than he usually does. I can't see how nobody here is even giving Silva a chance if this fight were to happen considering how off the charts amazing his striking is.

[REDDzone]

In my opinion, saying Silva walks at 220 and Jones at 230 and therefore they are around the same size is a little deceptive. Silva sort of balloons between camps where his diet isn't on point, etc and his body fat goes up. Whereas Jones is still pretty lean at 230-235. When Silva is in good shape he doesn't seem to be much over 205ish. This is also what people imo fail to realize when they say Silva is so much bigger than GSP (he's definitely longer and bigger). GSP walks at 190 but is always in freakish good shape whereas Silva again doesn't stay in fight shape all the time like the latter two pretty much do. With both in top shape their weights may only be 10-15 pounds apart as opposed to the 20-30 pound difference on paper.

Silva is a better striker, and in a kickboxing match I may well favor him. But Okami won a round versus Silva by clinching, Sonnen won 5 rounds by takedowns and control. Jones is a much better, stronger, and more physical grappler than both of those guys. I think the size thing is relevant because Jones is the guy looking to take the fight out of the free movement phase, which usually favors the bigger stronger guy. If he doesn't want to stand in the middle of the octagon with Silva then he doesn't have to at all. Vitor showed Jones is vulnerable from top guard but honestly he was able to explode into that armbar by kicking his leg over using the cage to create the angle and swinging it across Jones' face. I doubt Jones/Jackson allow something like that to happen again. Maybe he could snatch a triangle or something but I have no idea what other avenue he would have to win that fight. Unless he tried to prove a point about his striking like he did against Sonnen for wrestling and decided to stand with Anderson.

[Nemesis21]

I think Jon Jones wins in a match vs Anderson.