The Case for Jon Jones vs Anderson Silva
With UFC 151 cancelled, it has been nearly a month since a major MMA event, and another two weeks to go until 152 gets here with its overall strong card but an oddly make-shift main event. If you like to bet on NFL football, you may be excited about the start of the 2012 season… but as strictly an MMA aficionado, I’m getting restless without my weekly dose of fights.
There’s plenty of blame to share for the cancellation of UFC 151, and I’m not going to beat the dead horse that has already been well-beaten in so many MMA blogs. Instead, let’s just put this one behind us and look forward to Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort.
Wait, Vitor Belfort? Why is the reigning, dominant light-heavyweight champion who is #2 on our Division Dominance list, defending his title against the #5 middleweight? The answer is simple: Jones has thoroughly cleared out his division, having destroyed the majority of the 205 Top 10 without suffering so much as a cut or a black eye in process. Dan Henderson is injured, and former champions Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua are not exactly raring at the bit to fight Jones again and try to regain the title they once held. Alexander Gustaffson or Glover Texeira are the only legitimate options left for Jones, and that’s assuming at least one of them gets past their next challenge. This is why middleweight contenders like Belfort, Chael Sonnen, and even Chris Weidman are offering to throw themselves into the 205 mix. But short of a huge stroke of luck, such as the one that visited Belfort when he defeated Randy Couture for the light-heavyweight title, it’s hard to imagine these middleweights giving ‘Bones’ much of a fight.
There is however one middleweight who would be one hell of a challenge for Jones. I am talking of course about the champion and the greatest fighter of his generation, Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva. Keep reading to see why I believe this match-up would be great for all the parties involved:
Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)
| Saturday, July 18th 2026: Professional Fighters League PFL Austin: Van Steenis vs. Eblen 2 | |||
 [#6 MW] Costello Van Steenis |  [#12 MW] Johnny Eblen | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 3/20/2026 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#16 MW] Fabian Edwards Last 5: L W W W W | Last Fight Date: 3/28/2026 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#52 MW] Bryan Battle Last 5: W W W L W | ||
| Saturday, June 27th 2026: PFL San Diego: McKee vs. Isbulaev | |||
| [#7 W125] Liz Carmouche |  [#13 W125] Viviane Araujo | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 8/15/2025 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#16 W125] Jena Bishop Last 5: W L W W W | Last Fight Date: 4/11/2026 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#61 W125] Shanna Young Last 5: W L W L W | ||
| Saturday, June 27th 2026: PFL San Diego: McKee vs. Isbulaev | |||
| [#6 FW] A.J. McKee |  [#19 FW] Salamat Isbulaev | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 3/20/2026 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#27 FW] Adam Borics Last 5: W W L W W | Last Fight Date: 2/07/2026 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#23 FW] Jesus Pinedo Last 5: W W W W W | ||
Featured Fighters
| [#4 LW] | Justin Gaethje | [#1 LW] |  Ilia Topuria | |
| [#1 WW] |  Islam Makhachev | [#2 BW] | Merab Dvalishvili | |
| [#1 LHW] | Alex Pereira | [#44 LHW] |  Iwo Baraniewski | |
| [#174 WW] |  Marko Bojkovic | [NR] |  Conor McGregor | |
| [#36 LW] |  Tom Nolan | [#44 LW] |  Fares Ziam |
Rankings – Page Enhancement
Fighter ages will now be included in the ranking pages, to the right of the fighter names.
This info is not complete and probably never will be, though upon next update, it should be much better than it currently is.
We will NOT be maintaining this data as we use Sherdog for our resource. Any missing birthdates should be forwarded to them.
Upcoming Events – Page Enhancement
“Star Ratings” have been added to the Upcoming Events page, which will allow you to gauge the quality of events that we have bout information for. We want this page to become “the go-to” for viewing the upcoming MMA schedule. We are still ironing out some wrinkles with the rating, but it the first iteration is now “live”.
More information about the rating can be found at the top of the page.
MMA Rankings Updated: 9/1/2012
- The All-Time rankings will be refreshed sometime this weekend.
New Feature: UFC Bonuses
In recent years, the UFC brass have been handing out monetary awards to selected fighters after every event, for the best performances of the night. The awards include ‘Knockout of the Night’ and ‘Submission of the Night’ for the most impressive stoppages, and ‘Fight of the Night’ awarded to both participants of the most exciting bout.
Not every bonus gets awarded at each event – there have been a few UFC cards where no fights ended in a submission – and at times multiple fighters receive each award. For example, the ‘Fight of the Night’ honors have been shared among up to three bouts in a single event. On occasion, a lucky fighter has been rewarded with both a Fight of the Night and a Submission or Knockout of the Night in the same fight.
While these awards are arbitrary and fans often disagree with who should have received the bonuses after each event, the fighters with a large number of bonuses under their belt gain the reputation of being the most exciting athletes in the UFC. Our newest contributor and long-time reader Craig compiled a list of fighters who achieved the most bonuses in each category. As with the rest of our UFC Records section, we’ve set out to publish a Top 10 in each category, but the actual numbers vary because of ties. So read on, before you grab a package of sports beans and head to the gym to work off the inspiration:
Always the fan favorite, the recently retired Chris Lytle sits atop of this list with 6 Fights of the Night. An interesting observation: 9 out of 12 fighters with 4 or more Fights of the Night have competed as lightweights in the UFC (though a few of them have ventured into other divisions as well).
A couple of Ultimate Fighter 5 alumni, Joe Lauzon and Nate Diaz lead the way with 6 and 5 Submissions of the Night respectively. Not far behind is the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wizard Demian Maia, and a name that might surprise some of our readers: Terri Etim. Maia and Etim hold 4 submission bonuses each.
This is a very short list at the moment, as only six fighters have earned more than 2 total Knockout of the Night bonuses. Not surprisingly Anderson Silva not only holds the record in this category, but also has twice as many KO awards as any other UFC fighter.
Overall ‘of the Night’ Bonuses
Total bonuses received by each fighter, in any category. Anyone with 5 or more is included, and Anderson Silva shares the top honors with Joe Lauzon with 11 total awards.
The Argument for or against Cruiserweight: Revisited (Again)
About a year ago, I posted the first update to my original post.
I feel the need to keep revisiting this as we get more data, because every few months I see this topic bubble up to the top of various sites and forums.
In summary, we started tracking weigh-in weights, and I wanted to see if the heavier fighters won more often than lighter fighters. Using the same ideals as before, with an even larger data set:
- In 778 non-draw official fights where both fighters weighed in at different weights, but above 210 (our Light Heavyweight limit), 390 were won by the lighter fighter, and 388 won by the heavier fighter (49.9%).
- When you allow for mismatches and include matches in which only one fighter had to weigh above 210, the total tally increases to 946 and the gap widens, with the heavier fighter only winning 455 (48.1%).
- For the record, across the board, the heavier fighter has won 52.5% of the time.
The results are nearly identical as before, though the heavier fighter (again) gained ground in all three statistics. There are a few possibilities to explain this and it could be a combination of:
FightMatrix Program: Strikeforce (08-18-2012)
Women Bantamweight Championship (135)
[#1/#5DD] Ronda Rousey (5-0-0, 135.0lb) vs. [#2/#7DD] Sarah Kaufman (15-1-0, 134.0lb)
Sarah Kaufman is the All-Time #6 ranked Women’s fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Ronda Rousey (3-0-0)
2012-03-03: W vs. [#4BW] Miesha Tate (12-3-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 4:27 of round 1
2011-11-18: W vs. [#9FW] Julia Budd (3-2-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 0:39 of round 1
2011-08-12: W vs. [#9BW] Sarah DAlelio (6-2-0) via Technical Submission (Armbar) in 0:25 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Sarah Kaufman (3-0-0)
2012-03-03: W vs. [#3BW] Alexis Davis (12-5-0) via MD (29-29, 29-28, 29-28)
2011-07-22: W vs. [#7BW] Liz Carmouche (7-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2011-04-02: W vs. [#45BW] Megumi Yabushita (19-20-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:34 of round 3
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Ronda Rousey 168, Sarah Kaufman 168
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Middleweight (185)
[#15] Ronaldo Souza (15-3-0, 186.0lb) vs. [#41] Derek Brunson (9-1-0, 186.0lb)
Ronaldo Souza is the All-Time #17 ranked Middleweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Ronaldo Souza (2-1-0)
2012-03-03: W vs. [#70MW] Bristol Marunde (12-7-0) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 2:43 of round 3
2011-09-10: L vs. [#4MW] Luke Rockhold (10-1-0) via UD (50-45, 48-47, 48-47)
2011-01-29: W vs. [#25MW] Robbie Lawler (19-9-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:00 of round 3
Last 3 Fights: Derek Brunson (2-1-0)
2012-06-16: L vs. [#35MW] Kendall Grove (15-10-0) via SD (30-27, 30-27, 28-29)
2011-11-18: W vs. [#45MW] Nate James (13-8-1) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2011-07-30: W vs. [#85MW] Lumumba Sayers (6-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:33 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Ronaldo Souza 168, Derek Brunson 63
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Welterweight (170)
[#35] Tarec Saffiedine (12-3-0, 169.5lb) vs. [#111] Roger Bowling (11-2-0, 170.0lb)
Last 3 Fights: Tarec Saffiedine (2-1-0)
2012-01-07: W vs. [#54WW] Tyler Stinson (24-9-0) via SD (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
2011-07-30: W vs. [#168MW] Scott Smith (17-10-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
2011-01-07: L vs. [#19WW] Tyron Woodley (10-1-0) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Last 3 Fights: Roger Bowling (2-1-0)
2012-03-03: W vs. [#358WW] Brandon Saling (8-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:15 of round 2
2011-12-17: W vs. [#617MW] Jerron Peoples (4-2-0) via KO (Punches) in 0:42 of round 1
2011-07-22: L vs. [#67WW] Bobby Voelker (24-8-0) via TKO (Knee and Punches) in 2:16 of round 2
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Tarec Saffiedine 224, Roger Bowling 168
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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FightMatrix Program: UFC 150 (08-11-2012)
Lightweight Championship (155)
[#1/#5DD] Ben Henderson (16-2-0) vs. [#2/#6DD] Frankie Edgar (14-2-1)
Ben Henderson is the All-Time #14 ranked Lightweight fighter.
Frankie Edgar is the All-Time #3 ranked Lightweight and #21 ranked Absolute fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Ben Henderson (3-0-0)
2012-02-26: W vs. [#2LW/#6DD] Frankie Edgar (14-2-1) via UD (49-46, 48-47, 49-46)
2011-11-12: W vs. [#11LW] Clay Guida (29-13-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2011-08-14: W vs. [#16LW] Jim Miller (21-4-0) via UD (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
Last 3 Fights: Frankie Edgar (1-1-1)
2012-02-26: L vs. [#1LW/#5DD] Ben Henderson (16-2-0) via UD (49-46, 48-47, 49-46)
2011-10-08: W vs. [#5LW] Gray Maynard (11-1-1) via KO (Punches) in 3:54 of round 4
2011-01-01: D vs. [#5LW] Gray Maynard (11-1-1) via Draw (Split) in 5:00 of round 5
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Ben Henderson 167, Frankie Edgar 167
Previous Match-up Record: Ben Henderson leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 2 win(s) against common opposition.
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Lightweight (155)
[#10] Donald Cerrone (18-4-0) vs. [#25] Melvin Guillard (30-11-2)
Last 3 Fights: Donald Cerrone (2-1-0)
2012-05-15: W vs. [#41LW] Jeremy Stephens (20-8-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2011-12-30: L vs. [#4LW] Nate Diaz (16-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
2011-10-29: W vs. [#4FW] Dennis Siver (20-8-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:22 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Melvin Guillard (1-2-0)
2012-07-07: W vs. [#86LW] Fabricio Camoes (14-7-1) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2012-01-20: L vs. [#16LW] Jim Miller (21-4-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:04 of round 1
2011-10-08: L vs. [#15LW] Joe Lauzon (22-7-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 0:47 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Donald Cerrone 88, Melvin Guillard 35
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 2 win(s) against common opposition.
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Middleweight (185)
[#7WW] Jake Shields (27-6-1) vs. [#27] Ed Herman (20-8-0)
Jake Shields is the All-Time #21 ranked Middleweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Jake Shields (1-2-0)
2012-02-26: W vs. [#143WW] Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2011-09-17: L vs. [#6WW] Jake Ellenberger (27-6-0) via TKO (Knee and Punches) in 0:53 of round 1
2011-04-30: L vs. [*] Georges St Pierre (22-2-0) via UD (50-45, 48-47, 48-47)
Last 3 Fights: Ed Herman (3-0-0)
2012-02-04: W vs. [#100MW] Clifford Starks (8-1-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:43 of round 2
2011-08-14: W vs. [#90MW] Kyle Noke (19-6-1) via Submission (Inverted Heel Hook) in 4:15 of round 1
2011-06-04: W vs. [#280MW] Tim Credeur (12-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:48 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Jake Shields 167, Ed Herman 189
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 2 win(s) against common opposition.
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