At 43 years of age, the Brazilian great that is Anderson Silva probably doesn't need to accept any more challenges or risks in the UFC.
That all changed earlier this week when it was confirmed that The Spider will return to compete inside of the Octagon in February 2019 at the UFC 234 event where he'll battle middleweight sensation Israel Adesanya.
UFC 234
The Last Stylebender has taken the world of mixed martial arts by storm recently, with his dominating victory against Derek Brunson at UFC 230.
The 29-year-old took his record to 15-0, shot up the rankings to number six in the middleweight division and has now secured a fight against arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time in Silva.
As expected, fans have been wondering just why Silva would accept this monster challenge at this stage of his career.
It's easy to see why, he has little else to achieve in the UFC, he's taken a two-year break, he's past his prime and he's going up against somebody the UFC will hope to build the entire division around with his exciting style.
It'll be like looking in the mirror when the two stand opposite each other on the undercard of Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum for the UFC middleweight crown.
However, in an interview with ESPN, Silva has revealed that the reason he's accepted this fight is because UFC president Dana White has promised a title fight should he win - meaning this fight will effectively determine the next challenger.
TITLE SHOT
He said: "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.'"
Adesanya isn't the only name that came up during that meeting either.
Silva added that the initial name that came up was Conor McGregor, after the Brazilian heard the Notorious challenge him previous.
He added: "At first, I talked to Dana about a fight with McGregor, because McGregor challenged me," Silva said. "Maybe that will be my second fight after this layoff. We'll see."
Another name that did come up but probably isn't a fight that will happen is Georges St-Pierre, with Silva claiming that the former welterweight and middleweight champion has been running for years and has picked only the easy fights.
For now, fans are rightfully worried about Silva and the potential of being another Chuck Liddell, where they don't want him to go from the GOAT to the sacrificial lamb.
What do you make of UFC promising Anderson Silva a title fight with a win over Israel Adesanya? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.
