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According to former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva, he and Conor “Notorious” McGregor are ready to compete in a superfight. On May 27, The Spider, 45, posted on social media that he wanted to fight the Irishman at 176.37 pounds. The weight is just under halfway between welterweight, which McGregor has competed in three times, and middleweight, which is a weight class Silva ruled for years.
In the May 27 Instagram post, Silva wrote: “I have immense admiration for the great athlete that Conor is and I believe that a super fight would go down in the history of the sport, neither of us need to prove anything to anyone; I believe that fans of the UFC and of this sport would like to watch this great martial arts spectacle, it would be fantastic to test my martial arts skills against him!!”
Less than 24 hours later, McGregor responded to Silva’s challenge with a simple “I accept.”
Since then, McGregor and Silva have been quiet about the potential fight. On June 5, however, Silva sent a video to his former rival Chael “The American Gangster” Sonnen about the match.
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Silva Said That He & McGregor Are ‘Ready’ to Fight & Now It’s Up to UFC President Dana White
According to the Brazilian fighter, he and McGregor are “ready” to fight. The Spider sent a video to Sonnen and Sonnen then shared it on his YouTube show Friday night. The clip can be watched above.
In the clip, a noticeably trim Silva said that he’s starting to cut weight and train for the McGregor fight. He said, “I’m ready for that. Conor’s ready too.” The former middleweight champion then said it was up to UFC president Dana White to make the “fight real.”
The fight has not been officially scheduled. Recently, White told the media that he believes McGregor waiting to fight the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje is the best move for the Irishman.
The date for the lightweight title fight between Khabib and Gaethje has not been confirmed, however, the bout will likely take place late summer or early fall. White also said that McGregor may want to fight earlier than that.
Update June 6: On Saturday night, Conor McGregor took to Twitter to “retire.” He wrote, “Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting. Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been! Here is a picture of myself and my mother in Las Vegas post one of my World title wins! Pick the home of your dreams Mags I love you! Whatever you desire it’s yours.”
This is not the first time McGregor has retired from the sport, and it is unclear if the Irishman truly plans on hanging up his gloves for good.
Silva Is 45-Years-Old & He Is 1-4 in His Last 5 Matches
Silva is viewed by many as the greatest fighter of all time, including Conor McGregor. The Spider defended the middleweight strap 10 times in his prime, with wins over Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen and Demian Maia.
However, The Spider has fallen on hard times since losing his strap to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 on July 6, 2013. Since that loss, he’s 1-5 with one no contest. His only victory has come via a controversial decision over Derek Brunson at UFC 208 on February 11, 2017.
The last time Silva stepped into the Octagon was over a year ago when he fought Jared Cannonier at UFC 237 on May 11, 2019. He lost the bout via first-round TKO. Silva suffered a knee injury as a result of the fight, and he’s been out of competition since. At 45-years-old, Silva has said that he wants to finish his UFC contract, which still has two fights left on it.
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