UFC 135 Results: Jon Jones vs. Anderson Silva Isn't Happening

[WrestlingSmarks News]

Jon Jones put on a "hit and don't be hit" clinic against Quinton Jackson last night at UFC 135. Jones has such phenomenal talent and has improved at such a rapid rate that it has become only natural that many fans of the sport aren't patient to allow for any sort of normal career progression. Even before Jones had defended his title once there were fans calling for a superfight between Jones and middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

That talk picked up again in the immediate wake of Jones' trouncing of Rampage, but Dana White was very quick to squash it at the post-fight presser. Via ESPN:

When asked about a potential fight between the two, White replied, and rightly so, the line of fighters between Silva and the 24-year-old champion is long.

"The problem is this [light heavyweight] division is stacked," White said. "He has a lot of fights ahead of him. The guys who have been fighting at 205 have those slots and they deserve the respect of a title fight before any superfight.

"And, a lot of people don't really think about this, [Silva] is 37 years old."

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It is understandable to want to see fighters challenged by the best possible opponents, but there should also be a desire to let a guy who has yet to prove to be a major draw actually dominate his division. The rush is on in fans' minds to find a way to make the best fighters lose. We must see Silva vs. Jones! We must see Silva vs. St. Pierre! Jose Aldo needs to move to lightweight!

Again, it's understandable to want superfights, but much of the time it doesn't make sense to hurt a superstar with a loss for a single big night of pay-per-view buys.

When you look at the superfight talk between Silva and GSP, at least you're talking about a pair of fighters who have effectively cleaned out their division. Jones, on the other hand, has wins over four fighters currently ranked in the top 25 at light heavyweight (and two of those guys are Brandon Vera and Ryan Bader). There are still very intriguing fights out there against Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Dan Henderson and even Phil Davis at some point down the road.

Jones would be a considerable favorite against pretty much any man at 205 pounds, but Dana White is absolutely right that we're a long way away from needing to talk about Jones doing anything but defending his title.