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If Anderson Silva and Jon Jones fought today, how do you think that fight would play out?
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Well, that's the $64,000 question, isn't it? Chael Sonnen showed how it is at least possible to beat Anderson Silva when they first fought, but I'm still not convinced that Silva wasn't baiting Sonnen in order to win by submission in exchange for Sonnen denigrating the Nogueira brothers. When Sonnen tried the same thing against Jones, he got planted like a time capsule.
Jones on the other hand has never shown anyone a hint of vulnerability. Yeah, Vitor almost tapped him to an armbar, but an armbar can defeat anybody if applied properly. Saying that he almost got submitted to a tight armbar doesn't necessarily mean that submission defense is a gaping hole, ya dig?
So far, we at least know it's possible to defeat Silva, even though it's never actually happened. As for Jones, we only know that he is susceptible to 6 to 12 skulls to the elbow. I know Jones will have a major reach advantage, but it isn't as if Silva cannot figure out how to deal with reach, so I'm not going to say Jones by ranginess or anything. I guess I'd say Jones, simply because he has the ability to do what Sonnen did to Silva in Oakland, but I'm not laying money on it or anything.
C.J. TUTTLE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I drool at this question. The fact that this will eventually happen is absolutely incredible. Length would be an issue for Silva, but I swore to myself I never would bet against him again. I also said the same thing about Jon Jones. If I absolutely had to pick a winner I would pick Jon Jones. I think he is hungry to steal the "greatest of all-time" title from Silva and would squeak one out. But the real winner would be us fans. Unlike boxing, these two superstars are willing to prove who's best.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I think Silva wins nine times out of 10. He's proven over and over that he's the greatest. I think the fight would start tentative as Silva feels out Jones and his incredible reach. Jones could take Silva down, but I don't think he'd want to be on the ground with him. Eventually Silva would bait Jones in and finish him with something spectacular. This would be the biggest fight in UFC history.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
How the fight would play out is out of my real of ability to guess, Anderson has oodles of advantages as far as experience and knowledge goes, but Jones has a ton of advantages when it comes to size strength and apparently threshold for pain (that damn toe looked so nasty). Anywho, regardless of who wins or loses that fight they're both going to make an obscene amount of money, Dana White will be stuffing his mattress with 100$ bills for the rest of his life, and the live gate would blow any living beings mind. That being said, I can't pick a winner. Silva's too damn good to lose, but Jones is too damn good to lose too. The betting lines would probably slightly favor Jones based on his size and natural weight, but Silva is the best fighter in the history of the sport. I would also hope there was a clause in this fight that Kim Winslow would not be allowed to referee. Just a thought.
TONY BECERRA, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
If Jon Jones and Anderson Silva fought today and they were both healthy I would give the edge to Jones. However, Silva vs. Jones is more of an intriguing fight than people make it out to be. The reality is the fight is not happening tomorrow so all this talk about how Jones is the heavier, stronger fighter can be put to rest. Anderson Silva is known as heavy middleweight who drops 20 plus pounds to make the 185 limit. Just last week GSP was quoted saying "He's 230 pounds. He’s a very big guy, walking around very big and I'm 190 pounds...I don't do a lot of cutting." That was him hinting, actually damn near guaranteeing that the fight between them will not happen. Jon Jones is a talented fighter who hasn't truly been tested and I think Anderson SIlva could quite frankly be his Kryptonite. Now in terms of strength, you ask "What happens when Jones connects?" Well luckily for Anderson when it comes to avoiding getting hit in the face there is no one better than him. Suffice to say the debated has begun and it will not end until they meet in the Octagon in the Super fight of all Super fights.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I just cannot bet against Jon Jones. He is younger, stronger, way longer with his reach and I think he wins this fight. Yes, Anderson Silva is the best fighter ever but he is not the best fighter fighting today. Jones will use his size and unorthodox striking to beat the spider. I think that Jones will knock out Silva late in the fight.
ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
People have this perception that "super fights" are the way to go after any respective champion has cleaned out their division and there is no one left to face. Two problems here. One, they hardly ever live up to the hype, and two, no division is ever, technically cleaned out. In their respective divisions, there is at least one more challenger to conquer for both Anderson Silva and Jon Jones before the necessity of a super fight. Now, that won't matter to the paying public, but the first part about hardly living up to the hype does. This is the kind of fight I can see going to a decision with both Silva and Jones playing it safe without trying to hurt themselves when they have to go back to defending their championships. I see a safe decision for Anderson Silva to lay claim to the best in the world. Granted, that's until someone think it's still a good idea for another super fight, this time against GSP.
DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK COLUMNIST
Jon Jones is younger, bigger, faster and stronger than Anderson Silva; and although I wouldn't put money on it, my pick would be on the LHW champion. If they fight, Silva won’t have time to spend a round finding his range, or be able to comfortably dictate the pace against Jones. Unlike his recent fights, he can’t allow Jones to press him up against the cage, or worse yet, take him down. Especially as the latter will then be followed up by some of the best G&P in the business.
Only an idiot would dismiss the chances of the greatest Mixed Martial Artist of all time, but it’s actually tricky to predict how he wins. I guess the tactics that Machida displayed in the first round of his fight with Jones, would be his best approach. Machida is an excellent counter striker, but Silva is the best there is, and that’s his path to victory. Even that’s a tall order when your opponent has a freakishly large reach; and also knows how to put it to good use. If anyone can come up up with a way to counter that reach though, it's Silva. Such a tough fight to predict a winner, but I'll go with Jones by TKO in round three.
[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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