Conor McGregor Wants To Fight UFC GOAT, Anderson Silva Named Early Betting Favorite

Conor McGregor is itching to get back inside the octagon. UFC’s biggest star has taken aim at several potential opponents on social media over the last few weeks. Now, McGregor is indicating that he’s ready to face one of the all-time greats.

Anderson Silva, 45, is the greatest MMA fighter of all time in the eyes of many. That includes McGregor, who recently called Silva the “MMA GOAT” and named himself the second-best fighter in history.

Silva responded by suggesting the two stars should meet inside the cage. McGregor was quick to agree.

View this post on Instagram

SUPER __FIGHT 176.37LBS Tenho uma imensa admiração pelo grande atleta Conor e acredito que um super fight seria algo histórico para o esporte, nem um de nós precisa provar mais nada a ninguém; acredito que os fãs do ufc e do esporte gostariam de ver este grande espetáculo marcial, testar minhas habilidades marciais com ele seria fantástico!! I have immense admiration for the great athlete that Conor is and I believe that a super fight would go down in the history of the sport, neither of us need to prove anything to anyone; I believe that fans of the UFC and of this sport would like to watch this great martial arts spectacle, it would be fantastic to test my martial arts skills against him!!
A post shared by Anderson "The Spider" Silva (@spiderandersonsilva) on May 27, 2020 at 6:36pm PDT

I accept. https://t.co/HYqF132EvZ
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 28, 2020

“I have an immense admiration for the great athlete Conor and I believe that a super fight would be something historic for the sport,” Silva wrote on Instagram. “Neither of us need to prove anything to anyone; I believe UFC and sport fans would like to see this great martial show, testing my martial skills with him would be fantastic!!”

Silva is the greatest 185-pound fighter of all time. He held the UFC middleweight title for nearly 2,457 days from 2006-2013. Silva has also competed at light heavyweight.

McGregor’s last fight was a welterweight bout at UFC 246 when he knocked out Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds. The 31-year-old has shown an unprecedented ability to change weight classes in a short period of time. He became the first-ever UFC fighter to hold multiple belts at the same time, defeating Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight title when he was also the featherweight champion in 2016.

Silva suggested a fight with McGregor at 176 pounds.

"I'm afraid of no one, I'll go up and fight at any weight." - @TheNotoriousMMA

Full: https://t.co/KGcRmOjJIO @SevereMMA @andrewmcgahon_ pic.twitter.com/mQRUZvA8zP
— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) May 28, 2020

Bovada has made Silva a slight betting favorite in a potential super-fight with -125 odds. McGregor has -105 odds to defeat Silva.

Silva suffered a first-round TKO in his last fight, unable to continue after he injured his knee against Jared Cannonier at UFC 237. The legendary fighter has only one victory in eight bouts since 2013.