Anderson Silva and Conor McGregor, two of the greatest stars in MMA, were almost on a collision course.
Nowadays, both men are inactive in the fighting game. Although the McGregor comeback remains uncertain after an injury has deleted its return in 2024, Silva left the UFC in 2020 and has not fought in MMA since then.
The couple has recently outlined plans for further fights, but many believe that fans have seen the last of them in the cage. If that is the case, their performance will forever ignore them in combat history.
Like many of Mma's biggest names throughout history, Silva and McGregor are the subject of many fantasy bookings. But when it comes to their own matchup, both were once on board.
Anderson Silva accepted potential Conor McGregor fight in 2018 – but only on a certain weight
Seven years ago, as a discussion about how a dream conflict between Silva and Georges St-Pierre would play, 'The Spider' went to pay his attention to another star.
The Brazilian legend sketched what would be for a “dream fight” with McGregor to flourish. His condition was to drop only a small amount of weight from its normal middleweight class to a catch of 180 pounds.
“That is a dream come true. That would be a great fight,” Silva told ESPN. “He is a legend, I am a legend. Let's do this for the fans.
“I believe 180 [pounds] is perfect. I am ready, “Silva continued.” Yes, [that’s the lowest I could go]. “
At the time, McGregor's fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov was rapidly approaching, while they made up to fight for the lightweight crown.
But with McGregor who participated in Welterweight and had more recently entertained the idea of a middle weight to fight against Michael Chandler, the catching bid from Silva was perhaps not too unrealistic.
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What Conor McGregor said about fighting Anderson Silva
The interest in this fight was also not one -sided.
Silva's comments actually came in response to McGregor, who came close to calling 'The Spider' during an interview on the MMA show of Ariel Helwani prior to UFC 229.
“I would be interested in a Anderson Silva Bout,” said McGregor. “I swear for God. Anderson is a legend of the game. I'm sure he is also hunting for a few pounds.”
The fight eventually did not happen before Silva against his UFC contract moisture, and the same can be said for many potential McGregor attacks in the seven years since then.
After his crushing loss against Nurmagomedov, the Irishman participated three more times. McGregor easily defeated Donald Cerrone in his comeback before he dropped successive games against Dustin Poirier.
Discours around McGregor is recently focused on his failed return to Chandler, whose long waiting time for the largest 'cash fight' of the UFC did not play fruit.