Anderson Silva’s fight with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 212 on June 3rd may have fallen through, but it seems the Brazilian legend is still eager to compete on the card.
However, Silva has some specific thoughts on who he would be interested in fighting, and that includes ruling out a potential rematch with Vitor Belfort or a fight with former champion Luke Rockhold.
“I’m coming off a win, right, after a long time without wins, so it doesn’t make sense to fight any of them because they are both coming off losses,” Silva stated at a UFC 212 press conference. “It’s not something that will add anything for me. It doesn’t make sense.
“I’m ready to fight whoever the UFC puts there. It doesn’t matter who that is, be someone who’s coming off wins and adds something to my legacy, otherwise it doesn’t make sense.”
Oddly, after saying that Silva suggested that he’d be interested in a rematch with Nick Diaz, who hasn’t won a fight since 2011.
“It’s something that was on the table, too, it’s possible that it happens this fight with Nick. I respect him, he’s an excellent fighter. It would be an interesting fight. It would be cool because this fight makes sense. The (first) fight was a no contest, so we’ll see. Anything can happen.”
Aside from that contradiction, Silva also indictated that he’d be willing to fight current No.1 contender Yoel Romero.
“It’s a fight that would be interesting,” Silva said. “It would be a huge challenge, especially because Romero was going to fight for the belt. It would be a great challenge. He’s an athlete that has all the qualities to fight for the belt. So let’s wait. We’ll have to wait for the UFC and see what happens.”
However, Romero’s manager Malki Kawa has since cast doubt on Silva’s interest in that fight by claiming that ‘The Spider’ had already turned down the fight when it was offered to him.
So, for the time being it remains unclear who Silva will be locking horns with, and he’s admitted that he’s “anxious” to know so that he can begin gameplanning for the fight, which will take place in a little over seven weeks time in Rio.
