Anderson Silva has admitted to wanting a match-up between himself and Conor McGregor to happen, after the Irishman himself said how much he would love to have the chance to fight the MMA legend.

After a year away from the ring due to testing positive for a banned substance (which Silva was later vindicated for), the Brazilian is ready to step back into competition, and wants to face one of the sport's biggest names. 

Talk of a fight between the two was first put into motion after McGregor told ESPN before his showdown with Khabib Nurmagomedov: "I'd be interested in an Anderson Silva bout, I swear to god Anderson is a legend of the game. I'm sure he is hunting for a few quid aswell."

And after defeat to the Russian, McGregor is now waiting to bounce back from defeat and face his next challenger, which looks set to be Silva.

Silva, having heard McGregor talk about wanting the chance to go up against the former middleweight champion, said to TMZ: "I'm just waiting, I accept the challenge from Conor." 

"I think Dana (UFC president) needs to think about this. It’s two big guys in this sport, two big names. Two big legends, and, why not?”

Silva had the time to also have a little dig at McGregor, who suggested it would be a good chance for a big payday, saying: “It’s not about money, Conor. It’s about martial arts challenge.”

If the fight was to go ahead, McGregor would have to put on some pounds due to the fighters both being in different weight classes.

This won't be seen by the Irishman as an issue, after previously putting on the extra pounds to fight Nate Diaz. And Silva himself has laid down his ideal weight for the fight, saying: "I think 180 for me is good, I think to Conor, (it’s good) too. Because it’s a super fight, it’s not about weight class.”

Silva was also asked about the potential rematch between Conor and Khabib, but the Brazilian thinks it would be best if McGregor stayed away from another showdown.

“I don’t believe Conor would win, Definitely not. In a rematch, I don’t believe that. I believe in, Conor needs to fight with me. That’s a good fight.”

It seems Silva is really pushing for this fight to go ahead. 

Nothing has been set in stone for a match-up between the two legends as of yet, and Dana White has suggested he would rather see Khabib go up against Tony Ferguson before McGregor gets back in the ring, however, if these two get their way, it wont be long before these two are going toe for toe.