UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor has stepped away from the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s octagon for a bit to decide his next move. “The Notorious” has been hinting at a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. for quite some time now and if that fight comes to fruition, it may open the door for other athletes under the UFC banner to speak out about wanting boxing fights themselves.
Former middleweight champion Anderson Silva and current featherweight champion Jose Aldo have both recently spoken out about their interest in making the transition to the boxing ring, and already named opponents. At a recent media day for “UFC 212”, they told the media [via. MMA Fighting]:
Silva: “First, it was always a dream to fight a guy like Roy Jones. I’m a fan. Second, it was always something that I wanted. I’ve followed Roy Jones since he was an Olympic athlete, and I’ve always looked up to his style of boxing. It’s something I always wanted to do. Regardless of being in the UFC or not, it was always something I wanted to do. But let’s wait. So many things are happening. I never thought I would see so many of the things that are happening, so maybe it happens. Let’s wait. I hope it happens one day.”
Aldo: “If it does happen, I want to be in this card, too, boxing. I’ll challenge, I don’t know, Miguel Cotto, something like that. I want to surf this wave as well. If it happens, Dana… Don’t forget me, Joe Carr. Don’t forget me because if it happens I want to fight, brother. We can go for takedowns, too. No problem.”
