UFC analyst reveals what Anderson Silva told him about secret Jon Jones sparring session

Jon Jones and Anderson Silva are without a doubt two of the greatest fighters in UFC history.

Jones is the current UFC heavyweight champion, but spent most of his career reigning over the light heavyweight division. Silva, meanwhile, was the long-time champion one division down at middleweight. Unfortunately, the two greats never ended up fighting each other, as Silva’s prime occurred a bit before Jones reached the pinnacle.

Interestingly, however, the pair did participate in a secretive sparring session many years ago. It’s the stuff of MMA legend, but not much is known about the time they stepped into the ring together, or who came out on top.

That being said, renowned MMA analyst Chael Sonnen claims he asked Silva how the sparring session with Jones went. It sounds like he got some interesting info from the former UFC middleweight champ.

“There was a day, and you might know this story, that those two went at it and it was just a workout,” Sonnen told Bloody Elbow. “They were both in town. They’re both in Vegas at the same time, and the UFC had a private gym down below. That’s where Dana [White] would exercise, or Lorenzo [Fertitta] would go get his exercise. So they opened up the private gym. They put Anderson in and Jon in the ring together.

“If there’s a video, it’s never surfaced and the only people that were there, Dana and Lorenzo, Anderson and Jon,” the UFC analyst added. “Nobody’s ever spoke about that. But I asked Anderson privately. I said, ‘Man, you gotta tell me what happened that day.’ He told me a little and he did swear me to secrecy, but, but he does say that someday he will reveal what actually happened.”

So what exactly did Sonnen hear from Silva?

UFC legend Anderson Silva called Jon Jones ‘next level’ after sparring session

“He did tell me that Jon Jones was next level,” Sonnen said. “He gave him that compliment, and a lot of people that had seen it, the word kind of came out that Anderson got the better of him, and maybe that Jon allowed him to do that. Maybe Jon respected him because of the age. So we don’t quite have details on it, but Anderson did tell me when he felt Jon, he could tell that was another higher level of fighter and I think that’s pretty big praise from ‘The Spider’.”

Sonnen, of course, has an interesting perspective on a hypothetical Jon Jones vs. Anderson Silva fight. During his own career in the UFC Octagon, he fought Silva twice, and Jones once, losing all three fights. He also recently met Silva in a playful exhibition boxing match, after they had both retired from MMA.