Anderson Silva on Israel Adesanya’s callout: ‘I don’t know who is this guy’

Following Israel Adesanya’s big win over Brad Tavares at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale, the breakout middleweight contender called out former champion and pound-for-pound great Anderson Silva.

Adesanya, a world class kickboxer under the Glory banner, credited Silva as being one of his biggest inspirations and hailed him the greatest fighter of all time.

“Or you guys want this fight instead?! Yo for real...no bullshit, if not for @spiderandersonsilva I wouldn’t have looked at fighting from a different perspective. I was under the impression you gotta look like Paula to be a fighter. The Spider been fucking up muscled up beefcakes since ages ago as an lean aerodynamic man. He is still the g.o.a.t imo...With that being said...I want #alldashmoke . Just cuz I’m a fan don’t mean you can’t catch these hands...and feets. So yes I am down...will do it fih di culture of fighting!” Adesanya posted on Instagram.

Unfortunately for Adesanya, who is an established kickboxer and MMA fighter in his own right, ‘The Spider’ has no idea who he is.

Speaking to CBS Sports in a recent interview, Silva said he will have to look Adesanya up on the internet before he considers accepting a fight with ‘The Last Stylebender’.

“I don’t know this name, this guy,” Silva said of Adesanya. “I don’t know who is this guy. I’m so sorry, but I don’t know. I’ll go check. But that’s good, that’s good. I don’t know who this guy is, but now I’m just staying my focus on myself with me and my family and my team and my company. Let’s go see. I don’t know who is this guy, but I go check and I come back to talk to you about this guy.”

Adesanya, who fights out of Auckland, New Zealand, is undefeated in MMA after fourteen professional fights and broke into the UFC’s official top-ten middleweight rankings after his career-defining win over Tavares. The 29-year-old is one of the hottest prospects in the UFC after just three fights in the promotion.

Silva, 43, was recently exonerated of his most recent failed drug test after the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) concluded that the Brazilian had unknowingly ingested two contaminated substances via a tainted supplement. Silva is eligible to return to the Octagon no earlier than November 10, 2018.