Jon Jones Gushes Over Anderson Silva: He ‘Proved His Greatness’ At UFC 234

Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was overtly complimentary of Anderson Silva’s last outing even though it was another defeat.

Silva fought future title contender Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 234 earlier this month. While “The Last Stylebender” earned a unanimous decision against “The Spider,” the Brazilian had his moments. Keep in mind this was only a three-round bout due to the original main event being scrapped because of Robert Whittaker‘s unfortunate hernia and bowel surgery.

Despite the loss, the 205-pound king only took away the positives from Silva’s performance.

“That loss against Israel I think was great for his stock,” Jones said via MMAJunkie. “As an Anderson Silva fan, would I like to see him get his hand raised? Absolutely. But hats off to Israel for being so exciting and keeping the fans excited and having his own torch.”

“As an Anderson Silva fan, that’s exactly what we want to see. That was so beautiful. I’m so proud of him.”

And when it came time to talk about Silva nearly matching Adesanya stride for stride in the stand-up game, Jones was proud of his idol.

“I’m so proud of Anderson in his last fight,” Jones said. “He did so well. I am so proud of him. He has nothing to be ashamed about. He went against a young, hungry challenger, and he just proved his greatness. That performance, to me, was nothing short of great.”

“To go in a stand-up battle against Israel at Anderson’s age and with the injury he experienced, that just proves his greatness. He’s amazing.”

To all the fans calling for “The Spider” to call it a career, Jones doesn’t see things that way. In fact, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion sums up his thoughts for Silva with a few simple words.

“He’s just amazing,” Jones said. “He continues to prove it.”