Roy Jones Jr. Looking to MMA
Roy Jones Jr. vs Anderson Silva inside the UFC Octagon, in a mixed-martial-arts bout. That’s the hot rumor du jour…but as long as Silva is under Zuffa’s contract, it ain’t happening, according to Dana White:
The fight would make some money, but it hurts MMA in the long term. We don’t do that because we love the sport. That’s a PRIDE or K-1 matchup. It’s not what we do.
The Silva/Jones Jr. boxing match has been making the rounds for about a year now, after Silva defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 82 last year and wondered aloud about his desire to box Jones Jr. This time however, cbssports.com reports that Jones Jr. is willing to come to Silva’s domain to make it happen. The UFC isn’t game however, which leaves Silva two options:
A.) Fight out the remaining four fights on his contract, which could take two years or more, depending on injuries and availability of “big” fights. If Silva is still champion at that time, don’t expect Zuffa to just let him go without a fight; expect a long, drawn-out legal battle. I remember something about a fighter’s contract automatically extending for one fight if he’s still champ at the expiration of a contract…or something like that.
B.) Pull a Randy Couture, expediting the long, drawn-out legal battle.
Either way, the Silva/Jones Jr. fight, under any rules, will not happen any time soon.
Nick Diaz has also thrown his name into the mix, challenging Jones Jr. to a boxing match…but despite his relatively high profile in MMA, Diaz is hardly on Silva’s level, and not really worth Jones Jr.’s time.
