Spider fighter: Jon Jones thinks he has the capabilities to beat Anderson Silva

by Jesse Holland on Apr 19, 2011


Anderson Silva said he would "never" fight Jon Jones.
That's because the reigning UFC middleweight champion is now buddy-buddy with the newly crowned 205-pound champion. In fact, they're even going on a movie date this week in Tribeca.
Besides, they fight in two completely different weight classes. "The Spider" is comfortable in his role as 185-pound deity while "Bones" is sawing his way through the light heavyweight ranks. There just isn't a scenario where these two gladiators would ever meet inside the Octagon.
Of course, that's probably what Rashad Evans thought back when he and Jones were chummy in Albuquerque.
Jones "doesn't see himself as the guy to fight Anderson right now" because he's too busy trying to be like him. And as he tells ESPN.com, he's still trying to reach Silva's epic epicness inside the cage:

"Because I look up to Anderson so much, I don’t look at myself as the guy to fight him right now. Anderson’s one of the guys right now I look at his way of being to like Bruce Lee. I would need to do some serious soul-searching to know that I’d beat Anderson Silva’s [butt]. I think I have the capabilities of doing it. But I truly admire Anderson Silva. My goal is to reach a level of comfort in the Octagon where you don’t even process your thoughts. You just move as your body thinks it. That’s what I’m looking for is that level of comfort, that level of cool. That’s what I’m trying to get. I think Anderson’s close to that. That’s what I want."
Silva is currently booked to fight Yushin Okami at UFC "Rio" this August. If he manages to silence "Thunder" in front of a hometown crowd, there won't be too many options left for him in his current weight class, which means fans will likely start calling for a divisional "super fight" against welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.
Or perhaps even Jon Jones.
"Bones" is also booked to throw leather later this year when he defends his newly-won strap against Evans, his former training partner under Greg Jackson.
And then? Only time will tell.
But should Silva watch his back?