Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva analyzes his skills over his opponent’s at UFC 234, Israel Adesanya,
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will have his hands full on Saturday night. Paired up against hot prospect Israel Adesanya, a striker in his prime whose antics much resemble Anderson’s before time passed him by, “The Spider” has been hearing many comparisons between himself and his young opponent as of late.
However, in Silva’s opinion, comparing both athletes is just unfair to both of them. The way Silva sees it, they’re from two different generations and there is just no point in making those comparisons.
“I think he’s a brilliant athlete, he has a brilliant career ahead of him in the sport,” Silva told Combate. “I think that he’ll conquer all that notoriety over time. This is a big fight for both of us, but you just can’t compare us, right? It’s like comparing Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. You can’t compare. They’re two different athletes and two different beasts.”
Although at the ripe of 43 and with 43 professional MMA bouts under his belt, Silva not only doesn’t consider retirement after fighting Adesanya, but could also see himself coming back to fight at UFC 237, in May, which could be a rematch against Nick Diaz, according tom Anderson himself.
“I might fight Nick Diaz in Curitiba,” Silva said. “I’m waiting on the negotiations, but now I’m focusing on Adesanya. I believe it’ll all depend on the result of the fight. I would really like to fight in Curitiba just so I could keep a good pace. Also, the last time I had a chance to fight there, I had an emergency surgery and couldn’t do it. I think Curitiba would be a nice stage for me to perform, no matter if it’s a title fight. I think it would be perfect to fight Nick Diaz in Curitiba before I fight for the belt.”
Anderson Silva is expected to take on Israel Adesanya at UFC 234, in Melbourne, Australia, on February 9. The card will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between the champion, Robert Whittaker, and challenger Kelvin Gastelum.