Anderson Silva chooses the four main icons in UFC history in his opinion

A. Silva (photo) chose his UFC 'Mount Rushmore'. Photo: Reproduction / Twitter UFC_Brasil

When composing a list of the biggest names in the history of the UFC, it is unlikely that the name of Anderson Silva will not be present. But what about when it's Spider himself who has the mission of electing the organization's main icons?

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In an interview with the British website Give Me Sport, Anderson chose the four fighters who would be present in a version of Mount Rushmore based on the history of Ultimate.

Mount Rushmore is a large sculpture located on a mountain in South Dakota, United States, which contains the faces of four historic North American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.

The first two names chosen by Anderson Silva to make up his UFC Mount Rushmore were those of two former lightweight champions (up to 70,3 kg): BJ Penn and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“Well, there are a lot of different fighters that I respect, but if we're talking about the best, I'd say BJ Penn. What he did for the sport is incredible,” said Spider. “Khabib is also a monster, he is fantastic. His wrestling, his pressure, the way he fights changed the game.”

And of course there would be no shortage of Brazilian representatives on the list of Anderson Silva. To finalize the list, the names chosen were Royce gracie e Rodrigo Minotauro.

“I would also put Royce gracie, he started it all. Without him there would be nothing, there would be no UFC. My friend Minotaur too. He is my master. He was the one who gave me my black belt in jiu-jitsu”, added Anderson.

Retired from MMA, the former UFC middleweight champion decided to venture into professional boxing. Recently, in his return to the ring, Spider defeated former world champion Julio Cézar Chávez Jr by split decision after eight rounds. Spider spoke about the new phase and showed respect for the noble art.

“I'm working hard and I want to show respect for every athlete in boxing. I need to do my best, because if I'm not doing my best, I won't be respecting the sport and the people who made the sport the size it is. I'm 46 years old and I'm very lucky to continue doing my job and doing something so special. Everything is perfect, wonderful and I’m learning a lot”, concluded the Brazilian.