Dana White Not Making Anderson Silva's Next Fight Yet, but Title Talk is There
UFC president Dana White has off-handedly mentioned in interviews that, if successful on Saturday night, Anderson Silva could be right back into the title picture, possibly fighting the winner of UFC 184’s Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort.
Silva, however, isn’t so sure he’s ready to jump right back into the thick of things, having been out of the Octagon recovering from a severely broken leg for more than a year.
“I need three or two more fights for back for fight for the belt,” he told America’s Pregame Show on FOX Sports 1 recently. “But this is not my decision; this is Dana’s decision.”
White made an appearance on Thursday's America’s Pregame Show to talk about Silva’s UFC 183 bout against Nick Diaz. He backed away from any guarantees, but still believes that Silva being Silva, he doesn’t have to fall to the back of the line.
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“He’s the greatest of all time. I don’t think he needs two or three more fights to get back to the title. But if he feels that way, he’s still the number one ranked guy in the world. He could fight Jacare Souza. He could fight Lyoto Machida, Luke Rockhold, Vitor Belfort, Yoel Romero, Gegard Mousasi,” said White.
Silva, however, has said he really doesn’t want to fight other Brazilians any more. White pointed out that an unwillingness to fight fellow Brazilians would narrow Silva’s options considerably, but rang the comment up to the former champion’s typical prefight demeanor.
“He starts getting pretty limited when he doesn’t want to fight Brazilians or other guys. Three of the top guys in the world are Brazilian,” said White.
“Anderson always has some crazy things to say before a fight. He also said that I made him not change his walkout music, which isn’t true either.”
White wasn’t exactly ready to commit to much on Thursday, however, instead wanting to wait and see how Saturday’s main event showdown plays out before making any concrete decisions.
“I think on Saturday night, we’re gonna see where he’s at. He’s done everything he needs to do to be prepared for this fight. He’s back in shape. I think it’s just a mental thing now. He’s got to get out there and perform and see how he feels.
“We’ll get through Saturday and we’ll figure out what’s next.”
