Anderson Silva Calls for 176.37-Pound 'Superfight' With Conor McGregor

Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC & Jeff Bottari - Zuffa LLC

Former undisputed UFC middleweight best, Anderson 'The Spider' Silva, has called for a very precise, catchweight 176.37-pound pairing with former two-weight world champion, 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor.

Silva, who turned 45-years-of-age in April - last featured at UFC 237 last May, dropping a defeat to middleweight contender, Jared Cannonier after a barrage of opening-round leg kicks. The blemish marked the São Paulo native's sixth defeat in his eight most recent outings.

Taking to his official Instagram account on Wednesday night, the iconic counter-striker called for a 'superfight' at 176.37-pounds with McGregor, explaining his "admiration" for the Crumlin native.

"SUPER 👊🏾FIGHT 176.37lbs. I have immense admiration for the great athlete that Conor (McGregor) is and I believe that a super fight would go down in the history of the sport, neither of us need (sic) to prove anything to anyone; I believe that fans of the UFC and of this sport would like to watch this great martial arts spectacle, it would be fantastic to test my martial arts skills against him!!"

View this post on Instagram

SUPER 👊🏾FIGHT 176.37LBS Tenho uma imensa admiração pelo grande atleta Conor e acredito que um super fight seria algo histórico para o esporte, nem um de nós precisa provar mais nada a ninguém; acredito que os fãs do ufc e do esporte gostariam de ver este grande espetáculo marcial, testar minhas habilidades marciais com ele seria fantástico!! I have immense admiration for the great athlete that Conor is and I believe that a super fight would go down in the history of the sport, neither of us need to prove anything to anyone; I believe that fans of the UFC and of this sport would like to watch this great martial arts spectacle, it would be fantastic to test my martial arts skills against him!!

A post shared by Anderson "The Spider" Silva (@spiderandersonsilva) on May 27, 2020 at 6:36pm PDT

An affair at 176.37-pounds, as Silva suggests - would mark the lowest weight the Brazilian has competed at professionally, and the highest weight, McGregor has tipped the scales at since his first appearance back in 2008. Silva has featured as high as light heavyweight in his career, most recently making a cameo at the weight in a short-notice replacement meeting with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200. McGregor, on the other hand, has tipped the scales at welterweight - for a duo of clashes with rival, Nate Diaz, and for his most recent Octagon appearance; a forty-second knockout of 'Cowboy' Cerrone at UFC 246 in January.

Silva joined the UFC's middleweight ranks back in June of 2006, taking a debut knockout victory over Chris Leben - setting up a title clash with, Rich Franklin, where he claimed gold. Scoring an incredible seven-year run, Silva successfully defended the 185-pound throne on ten separate occasions. 'The Spider' would manage victories over Nate Marquardt, the above noted, Franklin, Dan Henderson, Patrick Côté, Thales Leites, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Yushin Okami, and Sonnen in a rematch - before losing the title in a earth-shattering second-round knockout defeat to Chris Weidman back at UFC 162 in July of 2013.

McGregor, 31, has recently earmarked a return to active competition this coming July - following his aforementioned return to the winner's enclosure against Cerrone. Potential opponents for the Dubliner remain few and far between it seems, with tentatively booked foe, Justin Gaethje recently earning interim spoils - to set up a unification clash with McGregor's arch-enemy, Khabib Nurmagomedov.