UFC welterweight calls out Anderson Silva to a fight; Brazilian responds
"Showtime" Anthony Pettis has challenged future UFC hall of famer Anderson Silva to a fight inside the Octagon.
Anderson Silva has been out of action for almost a year now. His last fight was against middleweight KO artist Jared Cannonier back at UFC 237. Silva succumbed to a nasty leg kick during the final seconds of the first round and lost via TKO. Prior to that, Silva threw down against reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in an entertaining fight where the Brazilian came up short in the end, losing via unanimous decision.
Is Anderson Silva an easy target at the fag end of his fighting career?
Honestly, Silva's career record hasn't been great over the past few years. He suffered losses against fighters such as Michael Bisping, Daniel Cormier, and Chris Weidman. However, that doesn't make him any less of a fighter. Anderson Silva is rightly regarded as one of the best fighters to have ever stepped inside the Octagon.
However, despite still being considered as one of the greatest fighters of all time, many of the fighters today have noticed holes in Silva's game that they believe they can exploit. Also, beating a name like Silva propels their resume to greater heights.
Anthony Pettis has now taken to social media to respectfully challenge Silva.
“It would be an honor !!! @spiderandersonsilva #forthefans #185 #letsgo.”
Anderson Silva was recently vying for a fight against former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor next. However, the Irishman recently announced his retirement from the sport, putting an end to any chances of the fight coming to fruition.
Anderson Silva didn't take long to respond to the challenge, and accepted the proposal on social media.
“This is great my friend let’s do it”
However, the potential fight probably has to take place at catchweight because of the huge difference between weight classes of the fighters. Pettis has never fought higher than welterweight while the heaviest Silva has been inside the Octagon is 205lbs while competing at light-heavyweight.