Anderson Silva Interested in Future Superfights Against Georges St. Pierre, Conor McGregor

While Anderson Silva will be making a rare appearance outside the main event at UFC 198, he still stole the show during a pre-fight press conference on Wednesday.

Although he shared the dais with eight stars of the May 14 event in Curitiba, Silva received the most media attention. And the former middleweight champion answered all types of questions. The press conference began with a reporter asking Silva if he is still a role model for Brazilian children despite having recently tested positive for steroids. “The Spider” believes nothing has changed his relationship with the youth in his country.

“I don´t see it that way. I feel the children keep treating me the same way and I have a good image,” he said. “I have no problems talking about that. Just to end this whole doping thing, I went very quickly from a guy who’s on steroids, to a guy who’s on nothing. With my voice, I don’t use anything; I don’t have any problems with doping. It doesn’t affect my legacy or my career in any way.”

Silva also talked about the future of Brazilian MMA.

“I came from one generation where we had great idols of MMA in Brazil, and I looked up to them to achieve what I did,” he said. “Some years ago Brazilians had almost all UFC belts, but now the only one I see with a real chance to get the title is [Ronaldo Souza]. But now after Jose Aldo, I don’t see any Brazilian becoming champion in the near future.”

Silva also said he is open to superfights.

“It would be a honor for me to fight [Georges St. Pierre]. It could happen,” he said.

He also expressed interest in a potential bout against Conor McGregor but denied that money would be his primary motivation for requesting such a matchup.

”I never fought for money, maybe only in the very beginning. Now my goal is to test myself,” he said. “I think McGregor is a great fighter, and I think we could put on a great show. I already fought at [170 pounds] in Shooto a long time ago. Maybe we could fight at a catch-weight.”

Silva later discussed Jon Jones’ recent arrest.

“I´m a big friend of Jones, and I got sad when I heard this news. My son Kalyl gave me the news. He is a big fan of Jones,” Silva said. “UFC should take better care of its young talent, teaching them how to deal with fame and money, like the bigger soccer teams do. I truly hope everything ends well for him in this case.”