Jon Bones Jones is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and became the youngest UFC champion in history at 23 years old in 2011.
Anderson Silva is arguably the greatest of all time in MMA, and while there is always subjective debate, it is hard to deny his skill and statistics.
But what does Jones need to do to match the legacy of Anderson Silva, or even surpass it?
Jones has quite a ways to go in regards to statistics and time put into the sport. By the time Jon Jones had his first professional MMA fight, Silva had attained the UFC Middleweight championship, defended it three times, and was riding a seven fight win streak, with a career of 23-4. Silva is currently 32-4 and Jones is 16-1. Statistically, it is hard to compare; especially since Silva has more Knockout victories than Jones has total fights.
Bones has expressed interest in moving up to Heavyweight at some point. Jones fighting in another weight class would aid in matching the legacy of Anderson Silva, who has fought up a weight class twice, earning two first-round knockouts.
While Jones does possess one of the longest reaches in UFC history, and some very unorthodox and brutal striking, he lacks the technicality that Silva has shown in his career. The accuracy of the Brazilian superstar is unmatched, but if Jones can continue to improve his striking, even greater success will follow.
Jones’ life outside of the cage might be affecting his popularity, but if he can stay humble, despite his rapid success; he can be unstoppable. Fame has a way of breaking some people however, and Jones must overcome that, and never become complacent. Silva has shown that his intelligence is an on-going strength; Jones is still young and still on the rise.
Fans are making cases for Jones being the pound-for-pound best right now, but that crown belongs to The Spider.” When Silva does retire, there will be a passing of the torch to whomever is the one on top; and if Jones does not stray from his roots, he will be kingl.
But before any hope of unseating Silva, he must first do what The Spider has done, and get through Dan Henderson when they meet at UFC 151 on September 1, 2012, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
What does Jones have to do to be GOAT?
Jon Bones Jones is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and became the youngest UFC champion in history at 23 years old in 2011. Anderson Silva is arguably the greatest of all time in MMA, and while there is always subjective debate, it is hard to deny his skill and statistics. But what does Jones…
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