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Former UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, said that Dana White had promised him a title for a title at 185 pounds when he was beating Israel Adesanya at the UFC 234 in February of next year.
Silva (34-8, 1NC) has not fought since his victory over Derek Brunson in the UFC 208 in February 2017. This is his first victory in more than four years and five appearances at the UFC. 'The Spider' was supposed to fight Kelvin Gastelum in November of last year, but a drug test failed, he was sentenced to a one-year ban by USADA and forced out .
Speaking to ESPN, Silva explained why he had accepted the fight with Adesanya, a very promising candidate, and also discussed potential conflicts with Conor McGregor and Georges St-Pierre.
"It's a big challenge for me," Silva said. "All my life, since I started martial arts, I have come up with the best challenge. Israel is a young man and the future of sport. Everyone is talking about Israel. I think it's the best fight in the sport.
"Dana came to LA to talk to me. I told 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're talking good business for me."
Last month, before McGregor met Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, the Irishman had already indicated who he would like to fight in the octagon, and the name of Silva exceeded that of St. Peter's. Silva has always stated that he was interested in a fight with McGregor.
"In the beginning, I spoke to Dana about an argument with McGregor, because McGregor put me in a challenge. It may be my second fight after this layoff. We will see."
Supporters have long wanted Silva and St-Pierre to compete, especially when the two men were the kings of their division and fought at their best in the UFC. It still seems unlikely, because Silva thinks St Peter does not want to fight him.
"It's an interesting fight, but George never accepted the challenge. Georges runs fair, short, short, it's crazy. Silva said. "I do not think Georges wants the fight, but it's good. I respect Georges. This is a great fighter. Maybe he just has a different vision – take easy fights. This is not me. I love taking on the big challenges of my life. "
UFC 234 is scheduled for Feb. 9 (Feb. 10 in Australia) with a main middleweight tournament between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum.
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