Conor McGregor Responds To Anderson Silva’s Challenge

Former longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva is gearing up to take on No. 8-ranked Derek Brunson in the co-main event of this weekend’s (Feb. 8, 2017) UFC 208 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, but he recently expressed his interest in fighting reigning lightweight champion Conor McGregor.

Silva said that the challenge was not out of disrespect, but rather his respect for McGregor’s fighting technique, and his desire to challenge himself.

It seems as if the Irishman has gotten wind of Silva’s challenge, and he didn’t appear to show as much respect, although as always, he said he’d fight anyone as long as the ‘numbers are right’:

“(Expletive) every one of them,” McGregor said during a recent Internet pay-per-view interview. “You see Anderson (Silva)? What’s Anderson talking about? What the (expletive) is Anderson Silva talking about? He keeps mentioning my name over and over again. Look, I’ll fight any one of them. Make sure the numbers are right, make sure the situation is right. I’ll fight any one of them at any given time.”

Although the potential scrap may be considered an intriguing one, it’s unlikely to come to fruition as Silva has competed at both 185-pound as well as 205 pounds, while McGregor has spent the majority of his career fighting at 145-pounds and 155-pounds, also fighting Nate Diaz twice at welterweight. Silva, however, did say he would be willing to cut below the middleweight limit to make the fight happen.

What do you make of the chatter between Silva and McGregor?