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At UFC 234, Anderson Silva will take on one of the hottest prospects in MMA, Israel Adesanya. It’s a fight that some look at with trepidation, believing the aging MMA legend will be put out to pasture by the man many now think of as “The Next Anderson Silva”. But for a man who has always wanted to fight his clone, the bout with Adesanya does more than just provide him the closest facsimile of that, it also will, apparently, get him back to a title shot.
Speaking recently with ESPN, Silva revealed that though he first was unsure about accepting the Adesanya fight, UFC President Dana White promised him a title shot if he wins, a deal that was too good for “The Spider” to pass up.
“This is a great challenge for me,” Silva said. “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.’”
Silva has been on the shelf since February of last year, after failing another USADA drug test, this time for methyltestosterone metabolites and hydrochlorothiazide, in advance of his scheduled bout with Kelvin Gastelum last fall. Silva was pulled from the bout, but ultimately only received a one-year suspension after his failure was deemed the result of a tainted supplement. Silva has been eligible to fight since October but was waiting on a fight that made since for him. There was even some discussion about a bout with former featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor, after the two had awkwardly called each other out in the media, an idea Silva still seems keen on.
“At first, I talked to Dana about a fight with McGregor, because McGregor challenged me,” Silva said. “Maybe that will be my second fight after this layoff. We’ll see.”
Of course, the fight fans most want to see - the one they’ve wanted to see for years - is a bout with another former two-weight world champion, Georges St-Pierre. But though Silva is still eyeing a fight with McGregor, he seems to have given up the idea of fighting GSP.
“That’s an interesting fight, but Georges has never come to accept the challenge,” Silva 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.”
In the meantime, Silva can concern himself with arguably the most dangerous opponent of his career, and the prospect of that is very exciting for The Spider.
“I knew when I saw Israel, wow, this boy is amazing and will have a good career in this sport,” Silva said. “This is an amazing challenge.”
Speaking recently with ESPN, Silva revealed that though he first was unsure about accepting the Adesanya fight, UFC President Dana White promised him a title shot if he wins, a deal that was too good for “The Spider” to pass up.
“This is a great challenge for me,” Silva said. “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.’”
Silva has been on the shelf since February of last year, after failing another USADA drug test, this time for methyltestosterone metabolites and hydrochlorothiazide, in advance of his scheduled bout with Kelvin Gastelum last fall. Silva was pulled from the bout, but ultimately only received a one-year suspension after his failure was deemed the result of a tainted supplement. Silva has been eligible to fight since October but was waiting on a fight that made since for him. There was even some discussion about a bout with former featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor, after the two had awkwardly called each other out in the media, an idea Silva still seems keen on.
“At first, I talked to Dana about a fight with McGregor, because McGregor challenged me,” Silva said. “Maybe that will be my second fight after this layoff. We’ll see.”
Of course, the fight fans most want to see - the one they’ve wanted to see for years - is a bout with another former two-weight world champion, Georges St-Pierre. But though Silva is still eyeing a fight with McGregor, he seems to have given up the idea of fighting GSP.
“That’s an interesting fight, but Georges has never come to accept the challenge,” Silva 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.”
In the meantime, Silva can concern himself with arguably the most dangerous opponent of his career, and the prospect of that is very exciting for The Spider.
“I knew when I saw Israel, wow, this boy is amazing and will have a good career in this sport,” Silva said. “This is an amazing challenge.”
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