UFC legend Anderson Silva, 45, vows to land super-fight with Conor McGregor as he starts work to cut weight to 80kg
UFC LEGEND Anderson Silva has vowed to land a super-fight with Conor McGregor, and is "ready" to start training for the potential showdown.
The 45-year-old recently called the Irishman out, with the Notorious appearing to accept his challenge on social media.
But there are many sceptics that believe that the fight won't happen, with UFC president Dana White having advised Conor to wait for the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje in the lightweight division.
Former middleweight champ Silva is bullish, however, and told former rival Chael Sonnen on YouTube that he "needs" to make the fight happen.
He said: "Hey what’s up Chael? How are you buddy? So I talked about my super fight with Conor, and I start to cut my weight.
"And for no excuse and for everybody talking about, 'Oh but Anderson don’t take the weight and blah blah blah.'
"Okay, I start training and I’m ready for that. Conor ready too. And it’s one thing, just Dana White, I need to make this fight real. Let’s go see."
The Brazilian has suggested that the pair fight at a catchweight of 80kg - just three kilos heavier than McGregor weighed in at for his last fight against Donald Cerrone in January.
Silva, meanwhile, would have to trim three kilos from what he weighed in at for his last fight in May last year.
The 6ft 2in "Spider" is undoubtedly a legend of the sport, and the holder of the record for longest-ever title reign in the history of the promotion when he was middleweight king for 2,457 days.
But now in his mid-40s he is the oldest fighter in the UFC - and has only won one of his last seven fights.
His last outing came in May 2019, when he was defeated by Jared Cannonier at UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro.
And with Silva's powers appearing to be on the wane, it's clear that White doesn't feel that fighting him would be McGregor's best move right now.
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He told Eddie Hearn and Tony Bellew on the Talk The Talk podcast: “I think the best thing for him. I’m not saying this is what’s going to happen. But in my opinion, he lets this Gaethje-Khabib fight play out and he fights the winner.
"I think that’s the smartest move for him. But, you know him, maybe he wants to fight before that.
"And if he does, we can figure something out. I think that is the move for him right now.”