Conor McGregor may be ‘my second fight after this layoff’ - Silva talks future, slams GSP

The future UFC Hall of Famer first revealed his interest in locking horns with McGregor in January 2017, declaring he had an ‘urge to test myself against’ the Irishman.

Talk of a catchweight bout between the pair quickly dissipated, but it came to the fore again before McGregor’s UFC 229 grudge match with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“You know what would be another great one? Anderson Silva,” McGregor said during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show when asked if he’d be interested in fighting Georges St-Pierre. “I would be interested in an Anderson Silva bout. I swear to God.

“Anderson is a legend in the game. What’s the difference between him and Georges? Same damn thing.

“I’m going to do fights that interest me or have meaning.”

Although the pair are interested in facing one another, the chances of them sharing the Octagon in the near future are very slim.

Silva is scheduled to face surging middleweight contender Israel Adesanya at UFC 234 on February 10 and McGregor’s future is currently unclear, though it should become more apparent after he and Nurmagomedov learn their punishments for their parts in the brawl which followed UFC 229’s main event.

Despite all the obstacles in the way of a Silva vs McGregor fight, the former is optimistic about facing ‘The Notorious’.

“At first, I talked to Dana (White) about a fight with McGregor, because McGregor challenged me,” Silva said told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto when how his fight with Adesanya came to fruition.

“Maybe that will be my second fight after this layoff. We’ll see.”

Unlike McGregor, Silva has had his eyes on a fight with fellow MMA legend Georges St-Pierre - who, in November 2017, moved up to the Brazilian’s middleweight division and prized the belt from then-champion Michael Bisping - for several years.

However, ‘The Spider’ doesn’t foresee himself facing St-Pierre before he calls time on his legendary career.

“That’s an interesting fight, but Georges has never come to accept the challenge,” the former long-reigning middleweight champion said. “Georges just runs, runs, runs. It’s crazy. I do not think Georges wants the fight – but that’s OK. I respect Georges.

“He is a great fighter. Maybe he just has a different view – to take easy fights. That’s not me. I like to take the big challenges in my life. Georges is very lucky and very smart. He never goes to take a fight if it’s not easy.

“That’s the point. Georges, for me, is a great fighter, but he never takes the real challenges in life. That’s my opinion. I respect him, but that’s my opinion.”

Silva’s decision to take a fight with Adesanya perplexed many, mainly due to the fact he hasn’t fought in over two years.

But the promise of the opportunity to reclaim the title he lost in July 2013 made it difficult for the 43-year-old to turn down a bout with ‘The Last Stylebender’.

“This is a great challenge for me,” Silva said of his fight with Adesanya. “My entire life, since I started martial arts, I have taken the best challenge.

“Israel is a young guy and the future of the sport. Everybody is talking about Israel. I think this is the best fight in the sport. Dana came to Los Angeles to talk to me. I said to him, ‘Why am I going to take this fight?’

“And Dana said, ‘You know, you win this fight, you go to the title belt.’ I said, ‘OK, now you are talking good business for me.’”