Anderson Silva to receive title shot with UFC 183 victory

Anderson Silva could be one victory away from a third crack at UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, according to company president Dana White.

White stated in a recent interview on FOX Sports 1’s “UFC Tonight” that Silva (33-6 MMA, 16-2 UFC) is likely to face the winner of UFC 184’s title bout between Weidman and Vitor Belfort should he get past Nick Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) at UFC 183 later this month.

“Diaz and Anderson Silva are fighting, and obviously if Anderson Silva wins that fight, and whether Vitor or Weidman win, then you have Anderson Silva versus either one of those guys,” White said.

Silva bout with Diaz, which takes place Jan. 31 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, is his first since he suffered a broken leg against Weidman at UFC 168 in December 2013.

The shocking finish marked Silva’s second consecutive defeat after Weidman ended his more than six-year run as middleweight champion at UFC 162.

“The Spider” has not registered a win in the UFC’s middleweight division since his July 2012 knockout of Chael Sonnen. Despite that, White said he’s set to receive a title shot with a win over Diaz, who has not won a UFC bout since he battered B.J. Penn at UFC 137 in October 2011.

White does not believe a Silva victory over Diaz is a given, though. He has concerns about the 39-year-old’s mental state after the serious leg injury, and if he’s not the same fighter he once was, Diaz could capitalize.

“It’s a very interesting fight,” White said. “After the injury that Anderson Silva had, where is he going to be mentally? I think physically he’s a guy that does the right things, works hard. He’s been working since the injury happened. He’s definitely going to be in shape.




http://mmajunkie.com/2015/01/dana-white-anderson-silva-to-receive-title-shot-with-ufc-183-victory

Bleh... This is why (well one of the reasons) the UFC has lost momentum. I'm sick of the seeing the same guys fight 3 times in 5 fights. Mix it up a bit, give someone else a chance to make a name for themselves.

Saw this coming... might as well just give CM Punk a shot after his first win too...

Yeah I remember we were discussing this awhile back, and my stance hasn't changed; I don't agree with it.
I'm a Silva fan, and even I have no desire to see him fight for the title right now. On top of that, I'm almost positive I've heard Silva say on more than one occasion that he has no interest in a title shot at this point (then again he does love trolling the media, so who knows? lol).

I'd rather see Jacare or the winner of Rockhold/Machida against Weidman next, while Silva takes a few other fights and works on getting his swagger back.

stacked division right now and giving silva the shot after a win over diaz seems to be odd for me at this time.
i understand he held it down for years but he got kod in the first fight and he was losing the 2nd fight until his leg fell off.

when you have guys like jacare, machida, rockhold, romero, and mousasi in the runnings lets make the ex champ build up some momentum in a pretty stacked division.

what happens if diaz beats silva?

Agree.. especially if it's still a shot at the same champ who dethroned him.

I'd love to see winner of Rockhold/Machida get the next shot and then have Jacare fight the winner of Silva/Diaz for the next shot after that.

I love me some Nick Diaz, but can you imagine Diaz vs Weidman?! lol! That would be hilariously one-sided!

i was thinking more of diaz vs lawler

I agree with everyone here wtf.

Jacare or Rockhold/Machida.

I would rather see Silva go off and do fun fights and just leave any idea of a title behind him. Not that i dont think Silva might stand a chance at getting the title. If Vitor beats weidman than silva could very well get the title back again but i would still rather at his age just do the fights the fans want. Fight Diaz, Go to the UK fight Bisping, Go up to LHW and pick some fun strikers from that division.

^^^^^
i agree about the lhw idea. it would have been perfect to make a match up of silva vs rampage

Wasnt sure if this was worth starting a new thread for, so I just found this one to post this update.

Like I figured, it isn't Silva pushing for a title shot if he beats Diaz, it's Dana:

Quote :

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.

“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.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-not-making-anderson-silvas-next-fight-yet-but-title-talk-is-there

None of it even matters. Diaz is gonna KTFO of Silva!

“I need three or two more fights for back for fight for the belt,”

couldnt have said it better myself.

such a thick roster of top guys lets have some fun in the mw division. i wish lombard would move up and fight silva