Anderson Silva Tells Dana White to Set Up Conor McGregor Fight 'For the Fans'

UFC legend Anderson Silva has told president Dana White to arrange a fight between himself and Conor McGregor.

The Brazilian was asked by TMZ Sports if he wanted to make the fight happen:

He said:

"I believe in this fight is very interesting for sport, for the fans, but that's the good question for Dana White because Conor accepts the challenge, I accept the challenge and [I'm] just waiting for the opportunity. Let's go see.

"Come on, boss. Give this show for the fans. Give this show for the big fans of UFC."

"It's two big guys, two big names. It's good money for you, Dana. And a good challenge for me, for Conor."

McGregor, who was defeated via submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in his last fight in October, announced his retirement from UFC on March 25:

However, in April, White confirmed "Conor McGregor will fight again," per CNN's Nick Friend.

It is not the first time McGregor has retired from the sport before making a comeback. He did the same in 2016 after a defeat to Nate Diaz, but he returned to fight on two more occasions that year.

Silva, 44, said he has no immediate plans to retire as he has "three or four more fights in my contract."

The Spider wants McGregor to fight him at middleweight, though: "That's the good fight for me and Conor ... It's a super, super, super fight."

The Notorious has competed between featherweight and welterweight thus far in his career, but he has never made the step up to 180 pounds.

Ahead of his defeat to Nurmagomedov in October, McGregor said he would be open to fighting Silva but would want him to drop to a lower weight class:

"I'd like him to cut down," he said. "I think that'd be a good fight for the fans. I'd be certainly interested in that."

Silva (34-9) has won just one fight since 2012, with five defeats and a no contest comprising the rest of his record since.

Nevertheless, his legendary status would mean a fight between himself and McGregor might have a wide appeal.

The pair will need to come to an agreement on the weight class, though, and that could prove a significant obstacle to arranging the bout.