Anderson Silva Says Dana White Guaranteed Him A Title Shot If He Beats Israel Adesanya

In an interview with ESPN, Anderson Silva said that UFC President Dana White promised him a title shot if he beats Israel Adesanya at UFC 234 on February 9. Here are highlights:

On the challenge: “This is a great challenge for me. My entire life, since I started martial arts, I have taken the best challenge. Israel is a young guy and the future of the sport. Everybody is talking about Israel. I think this is the best fight in the sport.”

On how White convinced him to take the fight: “Dana came to Los Angeles to talk to me. I said to him, ‘Why am I going to take this fight?’ And Dana said, ‘You know, you win this fight, you go to the title belt.’ I said, ‘OK, now you are talking good business for me.'”

On a possible fight with Georges St-Pierre: “That’s an interesting fight, but Georges has never come to accept the challenge. Georges just runs, runs, runs, It’s crazy. I do not think Georges wants the fight — but that’s OK. I respect Georges. He is a great fighter. Maybe he just has a different view — to take easy fights. That’s not me. I like to take the big challenges in my life. Georges is very lucky and very smart. He never goes to take a fight if it’s not easy. That’s the point. Georges, for me, is a great fighter, but he never takes the real challenges in life. That’s my opinion. I respect him, but that’s my opinion.”