“Conor is the Best One in the Sport”- Anderson Silva Demands a Conor McGregor Fight

Former long-time Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva spoke to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto and shared his views on his upcoming scrap. ‘The Spider’ will face off against Uriah Hall in what is expected to be his last fight. Silva has accrued some massive wins in the promotion and is arguably one of the most iconic MMA fighters to break into mainstream media.

Moreover, Anderson Silva touched upon Conor McGregor and how a match-up between the two would play out. Chiefly, both elite MMA strikers have long been mentioned in the same sentence in active competition. The MMA community has speculated how a fight between the two would play out on the feet.

Anderson Silva on Conor McGregor

The Hall of Famer caliber UFC fighter had nothing but praise for Conor McGregor as he touched upon his skill set. Silva’s words on McGregor carry significant merit, given his own prowess as a world-class striker.

“That’s very interesting you know, it’s two big strikers and I think for me I go to challenge myself. I challenge every single martial arts technique I’ve [been] training in my entire life. Because Conor is very athletic, he’s got the technique, and he’s a good striker. In my mind, everybody fights with Conor and don’t realize Conor is the best one in the sport.”

Anderson Silva continued to access the weapons that McGregor brings to the table in a possible striking exchange. Additionally, he also referenced Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is now synonymous with ‘The Notorious’ one.

“They try to do something better than Conor but this is not happening. Conor has a different time for everyone inside the cage, you know, especially when you fight with strikers. Of course, when you see the fight of Conor with Khabib, it’s completely different. Khabib is the beast, but when you talk about strikers, this is a good match for fans.”

A fight between Anderson Silva and Conor McGregor is an MMA fans fantasy given the complexity of their stand-up game. However, being at the tail end of his career, a bout between the two is unlikely to materialize.

Watch: Anderson Silva says Uriah Hall Fight could be the last of his career