Anderson Silva’s coach talks about a potential matchup between the former UFC middleweight champ and Conor McGregor.
Anderson Silva isn’t done with MMA just yet.
In a recent interview for Portal do Vale Tudo, Silva’s coach Rogerio Camoes stated that ‘The Spider’ is getting ready to make an Octagon return in January 2019, and doesn’t rule out a possible match against former featherweight and lightweight champion, Conor McGregor.
According to Camoes, the fight would have to happen at a 179 lbs catchweight, and that both fighters would be interested in the bout.
“If you really force him, Anderson Silva can make 179, 180 pounds,” Camoes said. “I was in Los Angeles one month ago and we talked about his return. It was nice because he called me up the next day and said he had a fight lined up and was just waiting for an opponent.
“There was this McGregor thing, too. I was at UFC 200, when Anderson fought Daniel Cormier, I remember Jorge Guimares talking to me. I remember Jorge talking to Lorenzo Fertitta about matching up Anderson with Conor, if he defeated Cormier. McGregor was in his prime. I was by his side and he said that they thought it was a good fight, they were interested. That’s when it all began.”
McGregor recently said that he was interested in a showdown with Silva, after which Anderson said that “it would be an honor” to fight him. It is uncertain what the future holds for McGregor following a fourth-round submission loss to current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is currently 43 years old and hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision win over Derek Brunson back in February 2017. He served a reduced one-year suspension after failing a USADA drug test, but it was later ruled that he ingested a contaminated supplement.
Before the win over Brunson, Silva was on a five-fight winless streak, with two losses to Chris Weidman, as well as defeats against Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping, and a No-Contest against Nick Diaz when he failed a Nevada Athletic Commission drug test.