UFC president Dana White insists he would NOT help promote an ‘old guy fight’ between Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr with the two veterans willing to go toe-to-toe inside the boxing ring
- Dana White is not interested in promoting Anderson Silva vs Roy Jones Jr
- The UFC president insists both men ‘have had their day’ on the fight scene
- Jones Jr came out of retirement on Saturday to face Mike Tyson in Los Angeles
- The fight controversially ended in a draw, setting up a future fight for the pair
- However, Jones Jr has reignited talk of stepping in the ring to face UFC icon Silva
Dana White has no desire of promoting an ‘old guy fight’ between Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr before insisting that both men have ‘had their day’.
Before his exhibition-style fight with Mike Tyson at the weekend, which controversially ended in a draw, Jones Jr revealed that he would be interested in fighting UFC veteran Silva inside the boxing ring.
The two men have previously expressed their desire to fight each other, which now looks to be on the cards following the success of Jones Jr’s return to the ring on Saturday.
Dana White is not interested in promoting a fight between Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr
Roy Jones Jr (left) and Anderson Silva (right) want to fight each other inside the boxing ring
And while a potential bout between the two looks likely, White revealed that their fight is of no interest to him and he would take no part in promoting it.
‘To my core, I am a fight fan,’ the UFC president said. ‘And I truly believe that the fight business is for young guys. It’s not for old guys. I get that there’s still some name value out there and you can go out and you can make some money.
‘But when you’re a fight fan I want to see the best in the world, the best up-and-coming kids, the best in the world.
‘I want to see these guys fight and I want to see who is the baddest motherf***er in the world in every division. As a fight fan that’s who I am and that kind of stuff doesn’t interest me.’
Talk of a fight between the two legends comes days after Jones Jr’s bout with Mike Tyson (left)
The two boxing icons fought in an exhibition-style fight in Los Angeles at the weekend
‘Anderson Silva had his day,’ he continued. ‘Roy Jones Jr had his day. Today is not their day. It’s just not. These young guys that you saw fight tonight are the future.
‘These are the up-and-coming, and this is what I’m interested in. This is what I love to do. I could sit here all f***ing night and watch kids that fought tonight fight, that’s what I love to do. That’s just not really what I do.
‘There’s other people out there that do that, plenty of people that do the old guy stuff. I don’t do the old guy stuff.’
It’s no surprise that White has no interest in promoting a fight involving Silva.
The two came to blows last month after White released the 46-year-old from his UFC contract just weeks after losing to Uriah Hall at UFC Vegas 12.
Silva was released from his UFC contract last month after losing to Uriah Hall at UFC Vegas 12
Following his release, Silva, nicknamed the Spider, is now eligible to join another fighting promotion, while it would also free him up to fight Jones Jr.
In his prime Silva dominated the UFC’s middleweight division.
Between 2006 and 2013 he was the dominant force in that weight class.
But in recent bouts it has appeared age has caught up with Silva, who has won just one of his last eight contests.