Anderson Silva discusses Jon Jones and Conor McGregor’s troubles outside the cage

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor are two of the greatest fighters in UFC history. Unfortunately, the two MMA superstars seem to have a difficult time staying out of trouble outside the cage. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Anderson Silva, who is another one of the UFC’s best ever, shared his opinions on Jones and McGregor’s troubles outside the cage.

Silva, who has admittedly seen his share of controversy of late, started with Jones.

”I’m his close friend [of Jones], I have a big affection for him, I see him as a younger brother, and I hope this moment he’s going through is a moment of reflection,” Silva said. “He’s young and has everything it takes to come back and reclaim what’s his. I’m rooting for him, as always. He’s an amazing guy, a guy that has been through several difficulties, several problems, and deserves our respect.”

As for McGregor, Silva seems a little less understanding. He feels that some of McGregor’s actions — namely his infamous Brooklyn rampage, in which he threw a dolly through the window of a bus — have set the sport of MMA back.

“Man, I think that not only me but other athletes that worked really hard to turn this sport into a sport to be watched by kids, ladies, women, men, people from all ages and social classes,” Silva said. “It’s complicated when this kind of thing happens, but who am I to judge? It’s something that must come from each person.

”Athletes have to have this conscience. Everybody has problems, everybody goes through situations, and I hope he realizes how much he means to many people and doesn’t do something like that again and ends up tarnishing a bit of what we worked for this sport.”

What do you think of Anderson Silva’s comments on Conor McGregor and Jon Jones?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/23/2018.