Anderson Silva Talks Conor McGregor: You Have To Promote The Right Way, With Respect
Conor McGregor has finally began to bring a reaction out of the usually stoic featherweight king Jose Aldo. The two will meet in a blockbuster showdown on July 11, 2015 and have recently been taking part in a media tour to promote the highly-anticipated card.
During this tour, the brash Irishmen has kicked up his agonizing trash talk to a whole different level, and fans are getting more intrigued every day. One man who is very familiar with promotion and trash talking is non-other than former long-time middleweight boss Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
Although he currently finds himself in a mess regarding failed drug tests, Silva was once the UFC’s pay-per-view-king, and their biggest draw. He knows what it takes to promote a fight, and his battles with one of the most famous trash talkers of all time, Chael Sonnen, gives him just the idea of what Aldo is currently going through with McGregor.
Speaking on McGregor with MMAFighting at a Q&A in Rio de Janeiro, “The Spider” said that one can joke and promote, but one can’t cross the line:
“Everything is valid, but you can’t cross the line. It’s nice to promote events, everybody likes the cocky guy, but you can’t cross the line,” Silva said during a quick Q&A session with fans after a seminar in Rio de Janeiro. “There is a fine line and when you cross it… Our sport is a full contact sport. You can’t cross that line too much. You can promote, joke, provoke, but can’t cross the line.”
Silva also relived his battles with Sonnen as well, noting that “The American Gangster” crossed the line by targeting Silva’s country and his family, which McGregor has not done to Aldo. “The Spider” also stated that if promotion isn’t done the right way it could hurt the sport:
“Sonnen crossed the line a little bit, disrespected our country and disrespected me, which isn’t cool for our sport,” Silva said. “We have women and kids, older people watching this sport. It’s important to know how far we can go with promotion.
“If we don’t promote it the right way, people don’t see you with good eyes, and nobody would associate themselves with a guy that talks trash about the other guy’s country, the other guy’s wife. You have to promote the right way, with respect.”
Has McGregor crossed the line?
