Anderson Silva wanted a different fight before receiving his next fight at the upcoming UFC 234 PPV event. It turns out that the former UFC middleweight champion wanted a bout against someone he’d fought before, and that was Nick Diaz.
Diaz has not been seen in the Octagon since his bout with Silva in January 2015. The outcome was later overturned to a no-contest after Silva tested positive for banned substances. On the flip side, Diaz failed a drug test in relation to that fight for marijuana. As a result, he was suspended 18 months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).
Now, Silva meets rising prospect Israel Adesanya on the main card portion of UFC 234. While speaking during a recent interview, Silva revealed that was leaning towards a rematch with Diaz for his next fight. Obviously, that didn’t happen.
“I think the fight with Nick Diaz would be a very cool fight, very interesting,” Silva said in Portuguese in an interview with Rap 77 (translation via YouTube CC courtesy of MMAjunkie). “Because our last fight, both of us ended up getting caught in the doping, and it was a no-contest. So, actually, the fight didn’t exist.
“But I think Nick is a guy who has a name, a guy who has a history in this sport. And what we can’t accept is going into the UFC’s game of wanting to use the legends that they have to promote the young guys.”
UFC 234 is set to be held on February 10, 2019, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on ESPN+.
Silva’s Issue
Silva continued by stating that his issue with young fighters is lack of respect that they give. This is towards him and senior fighters as they are experiencing it while still competing.
“I’ve talked about this a lot with Nick and with other athletes, as well. We don’t have an issue with fighting any of these kids, we don’t have an issue. We just want to be respected for everything we have built in this sport. Never, in my early trajectory, I never called out anyone. I always let things happen naturally. And I think it can’t be different.”
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