‘I Will Easily Surpass Him As No. 1 Before Retiring’, Conor McGregor Picks Current UFC GOAT

Conor McGregor has picked Anderson Silva as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter ahead of himself. The Irish boxer has also vowed to become the best before he bows out of the sport.

McGregor took to Twitter on Saturday and said his "champion status" in two UFC divisions – featherweight and lightweight – is good enough to help him seal the second place behind former middleweight champion Silva.

“The array of finishes, across 2 divisions, with champion status in 1, Anderson Silva is No.1 MMA GOAT. My array of finishes, across 3 divisions, with champion status in 2, I'm No.2. If not tied one.,” McGregor, who last fought in January, where he defeated Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, wrote on his official Twitter account.

The 31-year-old boxer, who has a 22-4 record in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), added that he will “easily” surpass Silva before retiring: “However [I am] still active, No.1 is fully secured by career end. And easily.”

McGregor’s list of top four UFC fighters also included former middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and current light heavyweight belt-holder Jon Jones at third and fourth place respectively.

The former UFC champion, who was recently involved in several controversies including a pub assault case in Dublin, further explained that had he counted the number of failed drug tests while deciding his list of top four UFC boxers, he would have established himself at the No. 1 spot. The likes of Silva and Jones have tested positive for banned positive during their career.

“I didn't mention PED results on multiple entrants, even though that makes me the clear current No.1 MMA GOAT, along with still being active. Although it shames, as well as puts all runs and finishes in complete doubt, I've snored multiple juice heads. A true GOAT must do it all,” added McGregor.