Stranger things have happened...

This story won't go away.

Even though Anderson Silva has yet to finish his business against Chris Weidman in the UFC 168 main event, which takes place this Saturday night (Dec. 28, 2013) at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the wheels are still in motion for his Roy Jones Jr. "super fight."

And the pugilist held up his end of the bargain.

Jones Jr. took home a unanimous decision win over Zine Eddine Benmakhlouf last Saturday night (Dec. 21, 2013) in Moscow, Russia, capturing the vacant WBU V cruiserweight title and prompting boxing promoter Vladimir Hryunov to meet with UFC President Dana White to coordinate a "Spider" fight.

From AllBoxing.ru (via Boxing Scene):

"White has long voiced his desire to organize an event in Russia. At the moment, several Russians are fighting in the UFC, and some of them I'm sure can get very far and even become champions. I very much look forward to meeting with White. The UFC events are held in a cage, and Jones and Silva will be staged under the rules of professional boxing. Therefore, they need a ring. This fight will create an enormous amount of interest around the world. And I would very much like [to have this fight] in Russia or in my country of Kazakhstan."

Just one more person to drive White "crazy."

It's hard to imagine a scenario where Silva is allowed to box following UFC 168. If he is able to defeat Weidman, that sets up a big-money rubber match or perhaps a rematch against Vitor Belfort, both of which put UFC in a position to generate mega bucks at the box office.

If he loses?

Then White would be faced with the possibility of having his former middleweight champion lose back-to-back fights inside the Octagon and then perhaps a loss inside the squared circle, making him a three-time loser. It won't damage his legacy, but it could affect his ability to draw.

Risk vs. reward.

http://www.mmamania.com/2013/12/23/5238192/roy-jones-jr-wins-boxing-match-in-russia-anderson-silva-fight-vladimir-hryunov-russia

Yeah man... DFW must be pissed that GSP retired, and Anderson Silva lost to Weidman.

Even if GSP does return, I don't think the allure of the GSP/Silva superfight is what it once was for most MMA fans... and the Jones/Silva superfight isn't quite as interesting since Jones looked like shit against Gustafsson as well.

It was a very interesting year in MMA during 2013... a great year for MMA in the UFC, but some extremely questionable outcomes for some champs who by the luck of the MMA judging managed to retain their titles.

...and I agree with you, the RJJ vs. Silva fight is more interesting now due to the events that transpired in the UFC in 2013.