Ed Soares: I Think A Well-Trained Anderson Silva Would Beat Jon Jones

Talk of former longtime UFC middleweight champ Anderson engaging in a super fight with light heavyweight king Jon Jones has cooled off considerably in recent months. After all, he lost the title when Chris Weidman knocked him out cold at UFC 162 – and Weidman was returning from a yearlong layoff from shoulder surgery.

Many attributed the loss more to Silva’s showboating, careless antics than to anything Weidman did. We’ll find out if it was a fluke or the real deal when the two rematch in the main event of UFC 168 on December 28.

But there’s at least one person who still think “The Spider” has what it takes to beat even Jones.

Silva’s manager Ed Soares recently met up with Fox Sports to detail his thoughts on the matter:

“I believe Anderson is the best fighter on the planet, period. Any weight class. I believe he has a bigger danger to any fighter he faces than any fighter has towards him. Can he be beat? Of course he can be beat. Anybody can be beat, but you put him against any fighter in any weight class and I think he has a better chance of beating them than they do beating him. I think he’ll beat him. I do think Anderson can beat Jon Jones. Not taking anything away from Jon Jones. Incredible athlete, but he doesn’t have the experience and I think a well-trained Anderson Silva would beat Jon Jones.””

That’s a sentiment echoed by many MMA fans that think Silva is still the true pound-for-pound king of the UFC. But with his advancing age and questionable motivation, it’s highly debatable right now. Silva’s former enemy Chael Sonnen recently raised an interesting point when he stated that a rematch has never once favored the older combatant.

Silva is no regular rematch participant, however, and he insists that he’s back. We’ll have to wait two months to find out for sure. Jones is currently set to fight number one contender Glover Teixeira early next year, and if Silva gets past Weidman we might finally see this oft-discussed bout for the ages finally come to fruition.

But I doubt it. It may be the biggest money match that Dana White can put together, but too many pieces would have to fall in place. Silva doesn’t really seem all that interested in fighting “Bones” either. He may have nine fights left on his UFC contract, but it’s hard to see that being fulfilled with him fighting once or twice a year.

Is Soares just sticking up for his good friend, or do his words truly have some weight here?