UFC Fantasy Showdown: Who Wins Between Jon Jones and Anderson Silva?

Let’s not kid ourselves: Anyone who saw how Jon Jones dominated Mauricio Rua en route to winning the UFC light heavyweight title has wondered how the youngster would fair against the current middleweight champ.

Silva currently holds the UFC record for consecutive title defenses (eight) and wins (14) and, for the most part, is considered the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. 

The only other fighter who has any argument for the top spot is UFC welterweight title holder Georges St. Pierre.

While Jones is still a baby within the MMA game, only making his professional debut in 2008, he has looked unstoppable in the early stages of his career. 

Up until the title fight at UFC 128, one can argue that Jones did not fight top tier competition. 

But he simply manhandled Shogun for the entirety of the fight, putting to rest the question if Bones can hang with the big boys. 

Still, is it too early to be thinking that Bones can squash the Spider? 

A “tale of the tape” style breakdown should give fans some insight on the matter. 

Jon Jones: Quick Overview

Jon “Bones” Jones

Age: 23

Style: Wrestling/Judo, Muay Thai

Reach: 84.5 inches

Accolades:  Youngest UFC title holder, 2010 World MMA Fighter of the Year, Sherdog 2009 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year, One Time Knockout and Submission of the Night Recipient

Natural Weight: 230 pounds

Anderson Silva: Quick Overview

Anderson “Spider” Silva

Age: 36

Style: Muay Thai, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Reach: 77.6 inches

Accolades: Most consecutive wins and title defenses within the UFC, Longest UFC title reign (three years and five months), three time Fight and Knockout of the Night Recipient, two time Submission of the Night Recipient, MMA Live and MMA Awards 2010 Fight of the Year against Chael Sonnen, Sherdog 2009 Beatdown of the Year Against Forrest Griffin

Natural Weight: 220-230 pounds

Anderson Silva: Evaluation

Silva has firmly cemented his place as one of the greatest of all time in MMA.  An obvious future Hall of Famer, Silva has completely outclassed or embarrassed his opponents in 11 of his past 13 wins.

His bout against Demian Maia last spring saw Silva exhibit some bizarre behavior, but at no point did he appear to be in any trouble en route to unanimous decision victory. 

Against Chael Sonnen this past summer, Silva was thoroughly dominated by Sonnen’s takedowns and ground and pound for four-and-a-half rounds. 

Silva showed the true heart of a champion, though, by catching Sonnen with a triangle choke to finish the fight. 

Sonnen’s performance has also been called into question by testing positive for elevated testosterone levels after the fight, as well as Silva allegedly suffering an undisclosed rib injury during the fight.

The Spider is one of the few fighters who have competed in three weight classes throughout his career: welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight. 

He has found success at all three weights, but has built out his niche as a middleweight. 

Regardless what weight he fights at, Silva continues to devastate opponents with superior striking and a nearly unstoppable arsenal of submissions when the fight hits the ground. 

Sonnen arguably laid the blue print of how to defeat the crafty Brazilian, but does any current fighter have the wrestling skills and submission defense to walk away victorious after five rounds?

Jon Jones: Evaluation

The two best words to describe Jon Jones in the octagon at this point in his career: “unorthodox” and “exciting." 

Jones has shown the ability to execute incredible takedowns and throws on his feet, as well as vicious ground and pound once the fight hits the mat.

Another consistent aspect of Jones' young career are his unpredictable elbow strikes, an aspect of his game that he has utilized in almost every single one of his professional fights. 

Additionally, Jones always seems to have the strength, speed and size advantage in each of his fights. 

Unlike a noticeable portion of professional fighters today, Jones is not a lifelong practitioner of mixed martial arts.

Jones was simply an accomplished wrestler in high school and college before deciding to get involved in mixed martial arts training around 2007. 

The 23-year-old’s sole professional loss came against Matt Hamill, but make no mistake about it: Jones beat himself, as opposed to Hamill beating him. 

Jones was embarrassing the light heavyweight contender before getting disqualified for using illegal “12-to-6” elbow strikes. 

Many experts and fans alike agree that it will be a while before anyone beats Jones simply because they are the better fighter. 

Fantasy Breakdown

A fight between Jones and Silva would be epic. 

Jones has proven he can dial in a quality performance against a top notch opponent, while Silva has shown he can hang with any fighter, regardless of their style. 

Jones is yet to face anyone who has substantially hurt him in a fight, and Silva can easily be that guy. 

Just ask Vitor Belfort. 

By the same token, Silva’s weakest point is probably his taken defense, and takedowns are an area where Jones excels.

On that note, Jones' ground and pound would likely hurt Silva a lot more than, say, that of Chael Sonnen’s did, making it much more difficult for him to slide Jones into a submission.  

Another aspect to consider is that this super fight would be held at 205, meaning that Silva could be stronger and more conditioned than he is 185. 

In the end, expect a fight that sees both fighters shed some blood and really have their heart and toughness tested. 

This writer would still expect Anderson Silva to win a tightly contested bout, as of right now.  

But if this fight does not happen until, say, two years down the line…Bones stands an awfully good chance of pulling off another big upset, assuming he continues to improve as he has. 

What are your thoughts on this potential super fight?