Does Anderson Silva's immediate refusal to fight Jon Jones tell us anything?

I think Anderson has earned certain rights after a long dominant reign but also I think it's become a habit for many fighters to use the "he's my friend" angle as a way to avoid a fight.
From my perspective, a champion/legend should fight the best fighters around. It's obvious there is no competition for Anderson at middleweight so why not go for a mega-challenge and make a monster payday?
Do you see anybody in the world actually clamoring for Anderson vs Yushi Okami? I don't. The box office will fail.
But the first thing out of everybody's mouth when Jon Jones smashed Shogun was "Spider Silva!"
Regardless of Anderson wanting to step off the gas peddle and relax, he's still a champion. And champions and legends are expected to take on the very best. Fans want to see them fight so why not have it?
Just like we want to see PBF/Pac and in past years wanted to see Tyson/Tua, Lewis/Bowe, etc. But due to politics and careful match-making, fans have missed out on so many good fights.
When will it ever be about what the fans want as opposed to what the fighter wants? Does the fighter not have a responsibility to take the fights demanded by the fans?
I agree that Anderson deserves our respect but as an active champion still near his peak, he knows what his fans want. So why just sit there and say "We can't fight because we're friends"? Everybody knows it's a BS excuse. Jon Jones didn't even know he was Anderson's friend. It's all made-up crap.
Why doesn't Anderson just say it out loud and clear. Why not say "I don't need Jon Jones because he's a dangerous fighter and too big for me, I would rather stay at middleweight and defend my title."
Why beat around the bush and make up sh*t that he and Jones are friends as being the reason they can't fight. Anderson's trying to pull one over on the fans.

 

It's an odd expectation. The feat itself was great, especially considering Forrest was a legitimate former champion.

But the feat was more akin to Roy Jones beating John Ruiz. I don't think anyone was really chastising him for taking the feat and being happy with that rather than fighting Lennox Lewis.

 

Anderson has flat out stated he doesn't want to fight Jon Jones, saying the media must hate him and that Jon Jones would definitely beat him.

As for the fight itself, it isn't really that big of a fight. Just something kind of drummed up by the casual fight fan who wants to see two explosive black guys fighting each other. Jones still has like, 3 or 4 fights at LHW. Superfights are just ridiculous right now when he still has Rashad/Phil Davis, Rampage, Lyoto and possibly even Thiago Silva.

As for Okami, he's earned his due...probably won't be a blockbuster, although the card may do well due to the great supporting cast, but Okami's earned the title shot with a great run.

 

At no point was this fight an option for Anderson Silva. What the fuck is Hanz talking about? Bones JUST won the title. Has not even defended it yet. Anderson has a fight scheduled with Okami.

So please, someone fill me in on this "Immediate refusal to fight Jon Jones" Or maybe Hanzy just can't help himself and he's back to trolling.

 

It was an option but not in the immediate future. The hype began after Jon Jones won the title. Both guys were sitting next to each other at the press conference when Anderson tried to make jokes and divert attention off himself when the media brought it up.

 

Just quit trolling Hanz, he wasn't offered the fight so there is no refusal. You're just trying to start shit.

 

He wasn't offered but it was a possibility. Even Dana White said it in an interview after the Jones/Shogun fight. He said he heard it everywhere around him. The masses were demanding Silva/Jones. I'm not making it up at all.

 

How can someone refuse something that was not offered? I must be missing something.

 

What do you mean offered? I'm talking about the media and fans wanting to see Silva/Jones and when asked about the possibility of the fight happening, Silva said "No way, no how...we can't fight because we are friends!"
It's all over the MMA news world. Do you even follow MMA?

 

Silva said he won't fight Jones because they're friends? I want to read that. Do you have a link.

Nothing gayer than not fighting because of friendship.

 

That first picture posted on the first page of this thread to show that Silva and Jones are comparable in size actually seems to show the opposite. Look at how Jones hand completely envelopes Silvas. They might be within a couple of inches height-wise but that's where it ends.

 

Why is Silva's legacy already intact, but St. Pierres isn't unless he moves up to fight Silva? Are you really giving that much weight to the fight with Griffin?

 

Yeah, I do. I read every major MMA new site every day. Nobody is talking about this.

 

Jon Jones' freakish hands are bigger than BJ's face.

 

Rashad Evans is smaller than Anderson by 4" and his hands are probably smaller too but it doesn't mean sh*t to him as he's more than ready to fight Jon Jones. So why doesn't Anderson do the same who is probably superior to Rashad in every way?

 

Perhaps Seagal doesn't have a gameplan for Anderson yet.

 

Uuuuh, Because Silva has Been Performing @ a HIGHER Level for a Loooooonger Period of Time, has DEFENDED his Title MORE Times, Kept his UNDEFEATED UFC Streak Intact AND had Not 1 but 2 DOMINANT Victories @ a Higher Weight...

Like it or Not, Forrest Griffin is a FORMER UFC Lightheavy Champion, 1 of the More RESPECTED Guys in the Company & Typically Gives a GOOD Account of Himself, Even in Losing...But Against Silva, Forrest was Straight Up CLOWNED...Who's Beaten Griffin MORE DECISIVELY than Anderson Silva Did???...Silva's Also Got a Good Win Over Irvin...

Silva's ALREADY DONE what GSP is in the Midst of Doing AND he's Actually Tested himself @ a Higher Weight....REED would Looooove to See GSP Take On a Former Middleweight Champ or even a CREDIBLE Middleweight...After the Diaz Fight, there will LITERALLY B No More Challenges @ 170 for GSP...& if he Continues to Hang Around that Weight, Instead of MOVING UP, it'll HURT his Legacy a Bit...

 

Jones is going to mess Rashad up though.

 

Word...

 

Silva is no where near the wrestler that Rashad is. And weight plays a bigger role in wrestling than any other discipline in MMA in my opinion.

To me it's all moot. If Anderson thinks Jones is too big for him then that is all that matters. There is no mystery. Silva doesn't want or need to fight Jones.

Period.

 

What are you basing this on?

St. Pierre has 17 wins in the UFC. He has defeated every man he has ever faced. Sure he has two MMA losses, but like Lennox Lewis, he beat both guys in rematches.

Silva has 13 wins in the UFC. He has 4 MMA losses, none of which were ever avenged. Silva started his MMA career just a little over a year before St. Pierre, but St. Pierre has been fighting in the UFC two years longer than Silva.

Silva flirted with 205 because he is a huge middleweight. He beat Griffin who has turned out to be a slightly above average LHW and who was coming off a knockout loss. St. Pierre is not a huge welterweight. He doesn't need to move up in weight to cement his legacy.

I would take the names on St. Pierre's resume over the ones Silva's any day.

 

My ass.

 

Silva has Defended his UFC Title MORE TIMES than Any Other Fighter in History...He's UNDEFEATED in UFC Fights...What is REED "Basing this On"???....The FACTS, Maybe???...

There's a Reason Silva is Pretty Much UNIVERSALLY Regarded as the Best Fighter in the World...Could U Imagine Silva Going Out as GSP Did in the Serra Fight???...Dude was TAPPING from Strikes...Since Then, GSP has Become SAFETY FIRST Almost to a Fault...There's Always a "...BUT" w/GSP...Yeah, he's Good...BUT...Yeah, he Dominated ____...BUT.

If U HONESTLY Think GSP is As Proven or MORE Proven than Anderson Silva is, REED Doesn't Know what Else to Say...There's a REASON 1 of them is Held in HIGHER Esteem than the Other...

No, GSP Isn't a TALL Welterweight, but he's Very THICKLY Muscled...He's Usually THICKER & STRONGER than Any of his Opponents...The Majority of the MMA World is ECHO'ing REED's Sentiments about GSP Being UNchallenged after the Diaz Fight & All but FORCED into Moving Up...


REED

 

Reed said:

You didn't really directly dispute any of this. It's all true.

But the debate over who has the better resume can be argued all day and night. To me the thing that always makes me side with Silva is the fact that he walked into the UFC and immediately owned the division by absolutely horse whipping the guys considered the best.

GSP has done it more gradually having lost in his first title shot and then losing the title after one defense the first time.

GSP is as clearly dominant in a weight class as possible RIGHT NOW. However, Silva has been at the exact level of dominance since he bitch slapped Chris Leben way back in 2006.

Again, I don't fault anyone for feeling differently but that's how I normally stack it up.

 

Silva is hardly a huge MW either. He's just gotten a little lazy with his weight and has gotten a little bigger with age with him literally going through his midlife crisis in between his UFC title run. The guy, while fully in shape, barely even cuts weight. He cuts usually around 10lbs to make 185lb. While GSP is cutting nearly 20 to make 170lb.

A few months before his UFC debut the guy was fighting at 175lb for god's sake.

 

His reach is the longest in the division, I'm pretty sure. 76' is 1 and half inches less than Silva, who apparently has a giant reach even for the MW division. And he's not exactly a midget, even if he isn't particularly tall.

 

So the guy has long arms and that makes him a huge welterweight? He is only 5'10" (4 inches shorter than Silva) and he certainly doesn't look drained for his fights at 170. He doesn't even look markedly larger than his opponents except for when he's fighting Penn.

As Reed stated he is very "thickly muscled" already. He doesn't have additional height or frame to put more weight onto. He would just be adding even more muscle to an already muscled frame.

I am pretty sure I quite clearly disputed the "higher level for a longer time" argument already. As for actual title defenses, Silva has 8 and St. Pierre has 6. Not exactly a huge difference there that would put one guys legacy over the others.

As for "Universally regarded the best fighter in the World". My ass he is. In fact most P4P lists currently have GSP at the top. So how is that universal or undisputed?

 

I think their UFC runs are close to even. So I give Silva the edge based on the fact that I think he's done more in his career. He beat and was considered the WW champion of the world after beating an undefeated Mach Sakurai early in his career and pre-prime. Before Hughes quickly took the spot. Unifying the PRIDE LHW and UFC MW titles in the superfigh stoppage win over Dan Henderson. And knocking out a top 5 LHW that was one fight removed from being the LHW champion of the world.

The only thing that would've enhanced the career of Silva more, even more than the bad losses is not being DQ'd and winning the ROTR tournament against Okami, then Jake Shields then finishing up with Carlos Condit.

That would've been excellent on his resume and probably tbh would've diminished GSP a bit.

 

He's good a cutting weight. Doesn't mean he doesn't put a massive amount on. That's like saying Ricardo Mayorga wasn't a big JWW because he didn't often looked drained. Zahabi said he hydrated up to 191lbs against Shields and he was 194lb a week before the fight. That's actually a lb over what Silva was TWO weeks before the Maia fight.

 

For the record, I would love to see GSP fight Silva.

I just think that Reed's assertion that GSP still needs to prove something, needs Silva, OR has any less of a legacy than Silva in any way is ridiculous and is just the latest example of Reeds painfully obvious bias.