Anderson Silva has responded to Israel Adesanya expressing interest in fighting him.
Silva will soon be able to return to the Octagon. Ahead of his planned UFC Shanghai bout with Kelvin Gastelum, Silva was flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). “The Spider” ended up proving that he took contaminated supplements and is eligible to compete in October.
Adesanya is a former Glory kickboxing tournament winner, who has started off his mixed martial arts career with a perfect 14-0 record. He’s coming off a huge win over Brad Tavares, where he answered questions regarding his takedown defense. Adesanya thwarted Tavares’ attempts and battered him on the feet for a unanimous decision victory.
Many have compared Adesanya’s style to Silva’s. “The Last Stylebender” is aware of the comparisons and recently showed interest in a bout with “The Spider.” Speaking to CBS Sports, Silva had the following to say:
“I don’t know this name, this guy. I don’t know who is this guy. I’m so sorry, but I don’t know. I’ll go check. But that’s good, that’s good. I don’t know who this guy is, but now I’m just staying my focus on myself with me and my family and my team and my company. Let’s go see. I don’t know who is this guy, but I go check and I come back to talk to you about this guy.”
Silva’s last bout was back in Feb. 2017. “The Spider” defeated Derek Brunson via controversial unanimous decision. It was Silva’s first win since Oct. 2012. Silva had gone 0-4, 1 NC prior to his clash with Brunson. Silva was on a 17-fight winning streak, with 10 of those wins being successful UFC middleweight title defenses before the rough skid. It’ll be interesting to see who Silva faces when he returns.
Do you think the UFC will book Anderson Silva vs. Israel Adesanya?
