The former UFC middleweight champion first mentioned the idea of a catchweight bout with “The Notorious” in March 2016. More than two years later, when “The Notorious” was finally set to return to the Octagon against lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, McGregor cited Silva as one of his ideas for the future.
Since then, fighting the Irishman has become “The Spider’s” main topic on social media.
Away from the cage since his February 2017 win over Derek Brunson due to a battle with the United States Anti-Doping Agency, in which Silva eventually proved his failed drug test to be due to a contaminated supplement, the Brazilian star has asked several times for the match-up.