Anderson Silva and Conor McGregor fighting anytime soon still seems like a stretch, but if the stars do throw down, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira evidently believes “The Spider” would walk away with it.
Now, if you missed it, during all the madness leading up to UFC 229, prior to McGregor’s loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, he expressed an interest in fighting Silva. It wasn’t long before the legend relayed he’d be interested in facing the former champ, and following UFC 229, Silva repeated that wish.
Well, more recently, Combate spoke with Nogueira, and during the interview, the Brazilian legend was asked to weigh-in on the theoretical bout between Silva and McGregor. Here is some of what “Big Nog” apparently had to say (quotes via Bloody Elbow):
“I think it’s a super fight!” Nogueira said. “Conor McGregor knows how to control distance well, but Anderson does it like nobody else. Derek Brunson is aggressive, knows how to close the distance, but couldn’t do anything against Anderson. The grappling aspect would be Anderson’s biggest obstacle. It would be a beautiful fight between two talented athletes who know how to punch and kick.”
“Anderson can get to 176 pounds, and McGregor would have to pump some iron,” he added. “I would bet my house and car on Anderson, he would knock him out. Anderson masters distance like nobody else. They’re both southpaws, Anderson is good with counters and McGregor is good at straight punches. It would sell. Anderson knows how to play the trash talking game. If he needs to put on that mask, he will.”
Now, although Silva is 43 year’s old now, and despite the fact he’s no longer the same, awe inspiring force he was in his prime, chances are he’d be a fair sized favorite, if, he fought McGregor.
After all, Silva is listed at 6’2, while McGregor is 5’9, and the former middleweight champ has three inches on the latter, as far as a reach. Plus, Silva has competed at 205 pounds several times, and even if they met at a catch-weight of say, 180, Silva would be the much bigger man.
Of course, as it stands right now, it seems kind of unlikely that McGregor would elect to go this route. Following his loss to Khabib earlier this month, the superstar said he’s willing to face “the next in line”, if he doesn’t get an immediate rematch. So, it would seem like McGregor’s focused on working his way back to a title fight with Khabib, rather than exploring super fights.
But, you just never know right?