Anderson Silva defends Jon Jones legacy

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva believes that reigning light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones has done more good than bad for the sport of MMA.

Like Jones, Silva has had issues with drug testing in the past, which has caused some fans and analysts to question each fighters legacy.

Despite previous controversies, “The Spider” says there is no contesting what “Bones” has done for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Anderson Silva, who meets Jared Cannonier at next month’s UFC 237 pay-per-view event, recently spoke to reporters about his ongoing relationship with light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.

“I think both Jon Jones and I have been through difficult situations in this sport. And then to return after all the difficult situations that we have lived, it’s more than simply loving what you do,” Silva said in his native Portuguese (via MMAJunkie). ”You have to be a very special person. I have a lot of affection for him. Whenever I can, we have conversations. I’m always passing on some of my experience when it comes to living with this world that is MMA, behind the cameras and all. And Jon Jones has everything it takes to create a great history – he already has a great history in this sport.”

Silva continued:

“There’s no contesting everything he’s already done for this sport. Of course, the things that he ended up doing and that I, too, ended up doing – sometimes due to decisions, sometimes due to issues that we had no control over, you end up paying for it. But we need to think of the good things. There were more good things than there were bad things, so Jon Jones has all my respect, and I’m sure he is the absolute champion of this sport.”

Jon Jones will return to action at July’s UFC 239 event where he will take on surging division contender Thiago Santos.

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