Israel Adesanya and Anderson Silva will square off at UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia on February 9th in what will possibly serve as the co-main event for the pay per view. Adesanya has already stated that he was promised a title shot by Dana White should he win at UFC 234, but with Silva losing four of his last five fights and not competing in two years at the time of UFC 234, it may come as a surprise that Silva claims Dana White promised him the exact same thing:
“Dana came to Los Angeles to talk to me,” Silva said to ESPN. “I said to him, ‘Why am I going to take this fight?’ And Dana said, ‘You know, you win this fight, you go to the title belt.’ I said, ‘OK, now you are talking good business for me.'”
With Anderson Silva now properly motivated to face Israel Adesanya in Australia, he now can eye and measure the challenge that awaits him:
“This is a great challenge for me,” Silva said. “My entire life, since I started martial arts, I have taken the best challenge. Israel is a young guy and the future of the sport. Everybody is talking about Israel. I think this is the best fight in the sport.”
But as much as Anderson Silva is now turning his focus to Adesanya, that was not his first choice of opponent for his next fight. He initially spoke with Dana White about a super fight against Conor McGregor. Instead, if Dana White’s promise sticks, Silva will be one step away from getting an opportunity at reclaiming the middleweight championship he held for so long.
Do you think Anderson Silva is deserving of a middleweight title shot with a victory over Israel Adesanya?
