Mousasi issues challenge to Anderson Silva

Gegard Mousasi has thrown his hat into the Anderson Silva sweepstakes.

Even with a loss to Michael Bisping in London in February, Silva remains one of the sport's most recognizable names. On Wednesday, Mousasi's manager, Nima Safapour, released a statement to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting, making it clear that her client was interested in taking on "The Spider":

"All of the Brazilian media has been contacting us today about a potential Mousasi/Silva match-up in Brazil. It is an exciting idea as it will be a stadium show. However, the Curitiba card is right around the corner. Therefore, we need adequate time to put the camp together and prepare. We would gladly fight Anderson. However, a May date is too soon of a return. Had we known immediately after the London card then maybe. But that time has passed us, unfortunately. We will take the fight gladly. However, I think it would make more sense to have them fight either at UFC 199 in LA at the earliest, or alternatively, at UFC 200 in Vegas at the latest. Gegard wants to have the fastest turnaround possible while not compromising the organization and structure of his training camp. So the question should go back directly to Anderson on whether he accepts our challenge at either UFC 199 or UFC 200."

The desired dates could be a major hurdle. Silva is interested in competing at UFC 198 in May, while Mousasi would prefer either June or July to give himself more time to train.

Mousasi actually fought in the co-main event of the London card, defeating Thales Leites via a one-sided unanimous decision.

He reiterated the challenge to Silva and UFC president Dana White on Twitter: