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2008-04-02 11:26:12
Dana White: "No Thanks" to Proposed Anderson "Spider" Silva - Roy Jones Jr. Fight
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You can forget about speculating on the outcome of a proposed "superbout" between Anderson "Spider" Silva and Roy Jones Jr. According to Dana White, even if the two sides agree to a deal, the fight won't happen.
According to various sources, the current UFC middleweight champion and Roy Jones Jr. had been discussing a potential bout for a couple of months now. There was an obvious benefit to both sides - a fight between these two surely would have generated millions of dollars in PPV buys. The only problem with their "negotiations" was that the UFC never would have permitted such a fight to take place. Anderson "Spider" Silva is under contract to the UFC and they have the final say.
Why would the UFC say no to this proposed deal?
First off, they don't want one of their biggest names potentially losing to a 39 year-old boxer. Anderson "Spider" Silva is a big draw and having him get knocked out by a boxer such as Roy Jones Jr. would be bad for business. Sure the UFC would make millions off of this fight, but they would also risk doing long-term damage to one of their most marketable names if Jones Jr. ended up crushing the "Spider".
Second, if Silva sustained some kind of a serious injury in the fight then the Middleweight belt situation would be thrown into disarray.
Third, the UFC doesn't want their promotion becoming some kind of a "circus" where ex-athletes and boxers "try their luck" at Mixed Martial Arts fighting. The UFC takes their sport very seriously which is why you probably aren't going to see too many boxers or other athletes invited to participate in the promotion. It's a lose/lose situation for the UFC - either a boxer comes in and destroys a UFC fighter or the UFC fighter destroys the boxer. In one case, a popular and marketable UFC star loses a bunch of credibility, and in the other case, fans are treated to a subpar "joke" of a fight.
I agree with the UFC's stance here. With Mixed Martial Arts fighting entering the mainstream consciousness, now is the time to cultivate and improve the product. The UFC no longer needs to make a "big splash" - they are already there and in the forefront.
In case you were wondering, Bodoglife put up odds for this fight. They had Roy Jones Jr. as a HUGE -2800 favorite, which in my opinion is completely ridiculous. Anderson "Spider" Silva was listed at +1400 to win, meaning that if you bet $100 on Silva, you would win $1400 in profit back.
Former professional boxers who have made the jump to Mixed Martial Arts fighting have not fared well at all. Obviously a fighter such as Roy Jones Jr. possesses incredible punching power, but what would happen if Silva got Jones Jr. onto the ground? The fight would be over.
In the end there is really no point in speculating about this match-up, as it will likely never happen. I think that this is probably good news for Jones Jr. that it won't happen.
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