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LOS ANGELES – Israel Adesanya didn’t hold back when talking about the meaning of his upcoming match with Anderson Silva, comparing it to “Lebron James getting to face Michael Jordan.”

Silva (34-8 MMA, 17-4 UFC), on his end, is also quite excited about the “amazing” fight that will “change everything.” As far as Adesanya’s (15-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) specific comparison goes, though, the UFC’s former middleweight champion will have to disagree.

“Michael Jordan and LeBron and Kobe (Bryant) is the next level,” Silva said at a press conference for his new gym, Spider Kick, in Los Angeles. “I’m normal guy, and Israel, too.”

Silva, 43, also isn’t quite on board with the notion that his 29-year-old opponent, whom he meets on Feb. 9 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, is a younger version of him – or, as Adesanya suggested, something close to the clone Silva always wanted to fight.

That doesn’t mean, though, that Silva isn’t intrigued by his foe.

“Israel is a great fighter,” Silva said. “I think he’s super talented, he’s young, he has a brilliant future ahead in this sport. I believe he might be a version of him and he’ll become a better version of himself.

“I believe Israel is not my new version. But I think this fight is very interesting, because I believe this is the first time I have the opponent (with) the same style. That’s a good test for my martial arts skills.”

Israel Adesanya

Not that we need to put Silva’s skills to the test at this point, of course. “The Spider” is undeniably part of any “greatest of all time” conversations in MMA, thanks to a remarkable seven-year UFC title reign in which he broke all types of records in his 185-pound division and occasionally climbed up to 205 to inflict some damage.

Since losing the title to Chris Weidman, though, Silva has been on an inconsistent 1-4 run (a win over Nick Diaz was overturned). When he returns, two years will have passed since he last set foot in the cage. Half of that time was spent under a suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) due to a failed doping test that Silva ultimately was able to trace back to tainted supplements.

There’s a reason why the unbeaten Adesanya sees this fight against a considerably older opponent, who’s riding a lot less momentum, as more meaningful than the “(expletive) world title.” Adesanya is, after all, the one who’s fighting an MMA legend in February. But the younger of the two co-headliners is still a hefty favorite in several online sports books and, arguably, the one with most to gain.

Taking it all into account, why won’t Silva simply take the legacy he’s already cemented and move on, instead of risking it once more against someone who poses a credible threat?

“My legacy is trying to continue. It doesn’t matter how much old or not, because old is in your mind,” Silva said. “When people talk about, ‘Oh, you’re old’ – especially in my home, because my family, my kids say, ‘Dad, stop. You don’t need to prove nothing. Stop.’ And I say say, ‘OK, you have a dream you love, something – just do it.’ The Spider Kick team helped me a lot, and helped me with a new challenge and new energy to continue my legacy.”

While the “motivation to do what I love” was a big part of it for Silva, it wasn’t all of it. There’s also the business aspect, of course, which is why UFC president Dana White’s offer to fight Adesanya was met with a question as to what they could do to sweeten the pot for Silva.

At this point, we already know what that meant, but allow Silva to refresh your memory.

“(White) said, ‘OK, if you win, you will fight for the belt,’” Silva said. “I said ‘OK, then you’ll have to give me the title shot, because I will win.’”

In a perfect world, Silva said, he’ll retire as champion. But that’s something to worry about in the future. Right now, he is focused on a challenging opponent and on the “magical moment” that Silva is experiencing as he prepares to fight him, after a two-year absence.

“I think everybody is going to see the old Anderson, but more experienced,” Silva said. “I don’t have nothing to prove. I passed through different moments in the sport. I win, I lose. I have a lot of experience. I am just doing something for my fans. I am so happy to be back to fighting and I’m here. Every day I come to training and say, ‘Thank you God. Thank you for giving me one more opportunity to do something special.’”

For Silva’s full chat with reporters, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC 234, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.