This weekend, Anderson Silva faces Jared Cannonier at UFC 237, but it’s not the fight he wanted. For the past several years, the former middleweight champion has been lobbying publicly for a super fight with former two-division champion, the original champ-champ, Conor McGregor. It’s a curious call out, mostly because McGregor won his two titles at weight classes in which Silva has never competed in. But that doesn’t seem to matter to Silva, who recently doubled down on his call out.

Speaking recently with TMZ Sports, “The Spider” once again reiterated his desire for a fight with McGregor, saying both he and Conor have accepted and it’s now up to Dana to make it happen.

“I believe this fight is very interesting for the sport, for the fans, but that’s a good question for Dana White,” Silva said. “Conor accepted the challenge, I accepted the challenge, we’re just waiting for the opportunity. Let’s go see.”

To be fair to Silva, McGregor has also shown interest in the fight; however, the man in charge has not. That’s unfortunate for Silva, who has been consistently calling for the fight for years. But Silva remains undeterred, even appealing to Dana’s business sense to try and get the ball rolling on making this happen.

“Come on boss,” Anderson Silva said. “Give this show for the fans, give this show for the big fans of the UFC. Two big guys, two big names, you know? It’s good money for you Dana, and good challenge for me, for Conor. I believe I could cut my weight for 180, I believe McGregor could weigh for 180. That’s the good fight for me and Conor. That’s a good experience for the fans, especially the fans for this sport. That’s a super, super, super fight. Anderson Silva and Conor McGregor.”

Who knows, maybe it will happen? Probably not but at least Anderson doesn’t have to feel rushed to push for it. The all-time great says he’s still pretty far away from retiring, so he’ll have plenty more opportunities to try and make it happen.

“No. I have three or four more fights on my contract,” Silva said about retirement. “I’m training hard for finish that. Of course, my partners in my company Spider Kick talked to me about, ‘It’s time to stop.’ [They want me] to take care of my business, my company, but I’m very excited. I’m very excited, I’m very happy, and I’m going to finish my contract. I have three or four more fights on my contract and I’m going to finish my contract.”

Hey, you can’t blame the man for trying.

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MUST-READ STORIES

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720. Raymond Daniels on viral knockout: ‘For me, that’s just another day in the office’.

Return. Gilbert Melendez finally returns to MMA at UFC 239 against Arnold Allen.

Beef. A.J. McKee, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ engage in heated shouting match on Bellator 221 media call.

Feature. Looking into the unlikely road Jessica Andrade has tred on her way to UFC gold.

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VIDEO STEW

Open workouts.

Embedded 3.

Bellator Countdown.

Kayla Harrison saying she’d beat Khabib in judo.

1 on 1 with Rose.

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LISTEN UP

Heavy Hands. Diving deep into UFC 237.

Mookie & Crookie. Debating the merits of UFC 237 vs. Bellator 221.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

United Airlines is on the take from Andy Silver.

Call out.

Denial.

Sick picture.

Angie might’ve come up with something.

Joanna has a cookbook.

Henry has a shirt.

Platinum Thoughts.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Talita Bernardo (6-3) vs. Viviane Araujo (6-1); UFC 237, May 11.

Heather Hardy (2-1) vs. Taylor Turner (3-5); Bellator 222, June 14.

Sergio Pettis (17-5) vs. Ricardo Ramos (12-2); UFC Minneapolis, June 29.

Jared Gordon (14-3) vs. Dan Moret (13-5); UFC Minneapolis, June 29.

Gilbert Melendez (22-7) vs. Arnold Allen (14-1); UFC 239, July 6.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Thanks for reading. See y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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