Anderson Silva opens up on who his favourite MMA fighter is and the pound-for-pound debate

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Anderson Silva could be fighting for the last time in the UFC but named one current star as his favourite fighter

Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva sees one chapter close in his career as he seems set to fight for the last time in the UFC Octagon on Saturday.

He is set to face Uriah Hall in the main event, but all good things must come to an end, as Silva has spoken about retiring from the UFC.

Anderson Silva has an impressive MMA and UFC record
Anderson Silva waits for the start of a middleweight fight against Nick Diaz during UFC 183 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on January 31, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Silva won by unanimous decision. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

While the Brazilian hasn’t been in the best of form over the past two years, there is no doubting his legacy. The 45-year-old has a ton of UFC records and has seen fighters for over two decades. Silva was speaking to the Schmo and was asked who his favourite fighter is right now.

The 45-year-old took his time to answer the question but named Khabib Nurmagomedov as the one:

“My favourite is Khabib.”

Silva was also speaking to Helen Yee and was open to seeing Khabib taking on Georges St-Pierre after Dana White’s comments.

Khabib had retired from the UFC after defeating Justin Gaethje last week. However, White suggested that emotions got the better of the Lightweight champion then, and things could change for the 30th fight of his career.

P4p doesn’t exist

Another debate that has raged on since Khabib retired is who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

Jon Jones was #1 but Khabib replaced him after defeating Gaethje. Jones has been upset over this decision since Khabib doesn’t have as many title defences as Jones. The pair also fight in different divisions and Silva was asked to share his thoughts on this.

Who won the fight at UFC 254?
Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia celebrates his victory over Justin Gaethje in their lightweight title bout during the UFC 254 event on October 25, 2020 on UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The 45-year-old took a different route and explained why this p4p ranking doesn’t exist for him:

“Pound-for-pound? I think this not exists. You have different fighters, the different shows but pound-for-pound that does not exist.”

He was also asked about a possible super-fight against Conor McGregor or St-Pierre and Silva was coy on the possibility of that taking place:

“I think Conor is a very interesting fight because it is a challenge for me to cut the weight but my thoughts for now are on this fight on Saturday and then let’s talk to Dana, maybe this is my last fight in UFC, I don’t know but let’s go see.”

Silva will go down as a future Hall of Famer in the UFC but it will be interesting to see what his next steps are.

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