Ryan Lochte believes Michael Phelps will return for the 2020 Olympics because Phelps "he wants to push his limits" and see how far he can go. Lochte says he'll return for the Tokyo games and hopes Phelps will be there too. (1:07)

Less than 24 hours after finishing fifth in the 200-meter individual medley -- a race billed as the final head-to-head showdown between him and Michael Phelps -- 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte opened the door for future Olympic races between the two most decorated swimmers in history.

"He said he's going to retire after 2012, and I was the only one that said he'd come back," Lochte said in a news conference Friday afternoon in Rio. "And I think he's coming back again. He loves that excitement, loves that challenge on the block against seven swimmers. I think with a different purpose, he's going to come back and push his limits. I'll be back and I want him back because we push each other. USA needs this. He's been the backbone."

However, Phelps shut the door again after he won silver in the 100-meter butterfly Friday night, saying, "I am not gonna be competing in four years."

Michael Phelps (right) and rival Ryan Lochte have combined to win 38 medals -- 28 golds -- during their Olympic careers. AP Photo/Nati Harnik

Phelps will be 35 in 2020, when the Tokyo Olympics will be held. Lochte will be 36. When asked if Lochte believed he would be the best in the world had Phelps been born in another era, Lochte said sometimes.

"But sometimes I don't. I don't want to be the Michael Phelps. I want to be the Ryan Lochte," he said. "I do the hair, the grills, the shoes, that's me. Michael is an amazing ambassador of the game. He's like a Michael Jordan. I'm just being me. I don't know if I'd be in this position if it wasn't for him."

Before answering the inevitable questions about his dating life and the current color of his hair, Lochte also praised 19-year-old U.S. teammate Katie Ledecky, who already had won three gold medals in Rio before setting a world record in the 800-meter freestyle Friday night, calling her a phenom.

"She is going to beat my times on long-distance races and that's crazy," he said. "She's so young and determined and loves the sport. She is going to keep breaking records, no doubt she will."