Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: Who would you most like to see Anderson Silva fight next?
Oct 18, 2012 - 4:15:00 PM ROUNDTABLE: Who would you most like to see Anderson Silva fight next?

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

Who would you most like to see Anderson Silva fight next and why?


RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Well, Jon Jones is the obvious answer, but Silva is ducking Jones and Jones only fights middleweights that Silva has already beaten the hell out of. So, with the one truly generational match off the books, it's a choice between Silva vs. GSP, or Silva vs. Someone His Own Size (glory be!). Frankly, I don't really care which top middleweight they pair him up with, be it Michael Bisping or the winner of the up coming fight between Chris Weidman or Tim Boetsch. After all, we all know what's going on here; Silva feels his legacy is secure, and doesn't want to risk tarnishing it by taking the toughest fight of his career against Jones. Not that I blame the guy. After all, he's 37 years old and recognized as the greatest fighter of all time as it is. He has nothing to gain by defeating Jones. I might not like that he's ducking Jones, but it's the right call for his own interests.


BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Jon Jones. That is all.


FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I want to see Silva fight Jon Jones ideally, but a fight against Georges St. Pierre would be cool, too. I think Silva beats either guy, I just think the fight against Jones would be more entertaining.


ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

GSP. GSP. GSP. I do not care how many times Silva says he will be around for years, the fact of the matter is he will not. I honestly think he will not fight in 2014. He has established himself as the greatest fighter ever and he has earned enough to live on comfortably for the rest of his life. All that makes sense are these high profile huge payday fights like with GSP. I think that after he gets by GSP he should consider a fight with Jon Jones. Both fights could net him millions of dollars and be some of the largest PPV audiences the sport has ever seen. They also have the potential to be two of the all-time best fights in the history of the sport.


DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR

My personal preference would be Jon Jones but i'll happily settle for GSP as that fight is the more likely of the two. Quite rightly, it seems like Silva is intent on maximizing his earnings as he nears the end of a glittering career. Two super fights against GSP and Jon Jones would earn everyone involved an absolute fortune and we the fans, get to watch a couple of epic fights.

Stylistically a fight with Jones would probably be more exciting to watch because I'm not convinced the GSP fight will deliver. You don't have to be Greg Jackson to know that GSP's best chance of winning is to take Silva down, and keep him there for a full five rounds; something he is more than capable of doing. A fight with Jones on the other hand has far more potential even if Jones might have the same game plan as GSP.

If the fight with GSP does happen next April then Anderson Silva should either vacate his Middleweight Title, or the UFC should put together an interim title fight between two relevant contenders (Bisping vs. Weidman/Boetsch). Like most other fans I'm a big advocate of champions actually defending their titles.

It would be extremely unfair to the other middleweights if Silva doesn't defend his title within at least one year of his last, just because he wants a big pay day, even if he is the greatest fighter in the history of planet earth.