Not surprisingly, Anderson Silva is agreeable to the idea of a super-fight with two division champ Conor McGregor.
Prior to fight week, there hadn’t been a whole lot of promotion for UFC 229 from the event’s undisputed star, Conor McGregor. Sure, there was the oddly dissatisfying press conference at New York City’s Radio Music Hall, empty without fans in attendance. Beyond that, however, McGregor had stayed mostly silent, posting the odd tidbit via Instagram or TheMacLife.com — otherwise, one would think the former double champ was busy shoring up his wrestling defense. Then on Monday, McGregor popped by Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Show, and talked not just about Khabib Nurmagomedov, but his future. A future that could include Anderson Silva.
Cue eye rolls. Silva has been linked to more super fights than you can shake a stick at. Silva vs. GSP. Silva vs. Jones. To be fair, fans did get Silva vs. Nick Diaz (only for both fighters to fail drug tests) and Silva vs. Daniel Cormier. The middleweight legend is nothing but game. ‘The Spider,’ however, due back from suspension over a tainted supplement shortly, is 43 years old, and hasn’t stepped in the cage since 2017, when he won a decision against Derek Brunson. Still, McGregor called him a “legend in the game” and appeared more keen on facing him than the more relevant (at this point) two-division champion Georges St. Pierre.
On Wednesday, Silva replied to McGregor’s (respectful) call-out, saying he was in.
On Instagram, Silva wrote (translated) that “it would be a great honor to test myself” by fighting Conor McGregor. He then added that
“He is an eclectic fighter, and has already proven that he has to be respected. Let’s make this happen! The UFC wants super fights, I’m sure fans from all 4 corners of the world want to see this fight.
I professionally believe it would be awesome to test my martial skills with a fighter like Conor Mcgregor a real super fight! Now he is focused on his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, after this fight I am ready for this challenge! When and where he wants.
Of course, first up for McGregor is Nurmagomedov. And should he win, Anderson Silva isn’t about to make the lightweight limit any time soon. Then again, McGregor has never been shy about moving up in weight. Though it would once again stall the 155lb division were he to dabble elsewhere.
