Trilogy fight between UFC legends nearly landed on Ronda Rousey card

Chris Weidman has revealed he was approached about a trilogy clash with Anderson Silva on Ronda Rousey’s undercard.

Rousey and Carano will meet in a historic event on May 16, a first card promoted by Jake Paul in MMA.

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Some of the sport’s biggest names will feature on the undercard including Nate Diaz and Francis Ngannou.

UFC legend Anderson Silva previously revealed he was offered a slot on the card, but would rather not step back into MMA with boxing preferred.

And now legendary rival Weidman has revealed he was contacted about a third fight with Silva, but it failed to materialise.

“They did [reach out],” Weidman told MMA Fighting. “My manager hit me up.

“They were curious if I had any interest in doing MMA against Anderson and I told my manager yeah but that has to be even way more money.

“To get through a training camp and everything. We asked for as much money as possible and then I haven’t heard anything back.

“Listen, I’d be down for the right amount of money. Me and Anderson have done a lot in our careers and have been through a lot.

“We’d love to get paid good for that. We’ll see what happens. That would be cool. I would be down.”

Weidman and Silva’s rivalry is one of the most famous in UFC history, with the former knocking out his rival in their first meeting in 2013.

The pair then rematched that same year, but the American suffered a horrific leg break from a kick and Silva got his revenge.

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Ironically Rousey featured on the undercard of their rematch bill against Meisha Tate, so it would have been a full circle moment.

Rousey – age is just a number my MMA comeback is worthy

Rousey hasn’t fought since back-to-back defeats in the UFC in 2016.

But the female trailblazer remains one of the biggest names and will still carry her selling power.

However many fans are concerned with her tough medical battle, that some believe will see her struggle during the bout.

But Rousey believes she is still relatively fresh in comparison to other big returning names.

She said: “I say that nobody’s bringing up Jon Jones‘ age as a disqualifying factor or Francis Ngannou, you know?

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“And I’m actually more fresh. They’ve been fighting more often, and their bodies are more broken down, and I’ve actually been able to recover a lot over this time.

“What really set me apart as a fighter was my mastery of martial arts. It wasn’t that I was so much bigger and stronger and more explosive than everybody, which I am very athletically gifted.

“But if anything, I’ve become more knowledgeable and more informed by the evolution of the sport. I’m more dangerous than I’ve ever been.”