Anderson Silva tells Chael Sonnen why he's desperate to fight Conor McGregor
UFC legend Anderson Silva wasn't merely testing the waters when he called out former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor to a superfight a few weeks back. In fact, contrary to popular belief, "The Spider" was quite serious about the matchup where the future hall of famer would like to test his skills against one of the best strikers in the modern-day fight game. Silva recently sent a video to former rival Chael Sonnen where he expressed his seriousness about a potential superfight with Conor McGregor.
When Anderson Silva first called out McGregor after the latter published his MMA GOAT list on Twitter, it came as a surprise to most fight fans as Silva is well past his prime and fights at a weight class which many believe is above the Irishman's pay-grade.
However, when McGregor accepted the challenge, it sent fight fans around the globe into a frenzy until UFC president Dana White spoiled the party by saying he isn't interested in a Silva vs. McGregor matchup at the moment. Silva even proposed that the fight take place at catchweight which would make it easier for the southpaw from Dublin to make weight.
In the video that Silva recorded and sent to Sonnen for his YouTube channel, the former UFC middleweight champion explained why he wants to fight McGregor so bad.
“Hey what’s up Chael? How are you buddy? So I talked about my superfight 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.’ Ok, I start training and I’m ready for that. Conor ready too. And it’s a one thing, just Dana White, I need to make this fight real. Let’s go see."
Sonnen acknowledged Silva's weight cutting efforts by saying that the Brazilian looks like he has shed some weight and guessed that Silva is currently walking somewhere around 187lbs and 189lbs. Sonnen believes that though Silva badly wants to face the Irishman in a highly marketable fight, it's ultimately upon the fans to create enough interest to make it happen. Sonnen is of the view that if the fight fans want it bad enough, Dana is definitely going to give them what they want.