It is likely many fighters in the UFC middleweight division wish it were true, but regardless of a report on Yahoo! Sports, Anderson Silva is not relinquishing his 185 lbs. title to move to light heavyweight, and no such talks ever took place between Silva’s manager Ed Soares and Dana White.
Soares is upset about the report and is getting his attorney involved according to ESPN’s Franklin McNeil. A UFC spokesperson confirmed that Soares and White did not have a conversation in which they agreed Silva would move to light heavyweight permanently.
So what is next for what many consider to be the world’s number one pound-for-pound fighter?
At the UFC 101 post-fight press conference White stated that a 185 lbs. rematch with Dan Henderson would probably be Silva’s next bout. However, Soares would prefer Silva fight again at 205 lbs. until there is a legitimate contender at middleweight.
“I don’t think there is a valid [middleweight] contender yet,” Soares said. “To create a valid 185-pound contender, I think, Dan Henderson should fight the winner of Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt. I don’t believe Dan Henderson deserves the title shot right now. The reason I don’t is because a year and a half ago Anderson submitted him in the second round,” explained Soares.
Soares has a different idea. “If anything, Nate Marquardt deserves a title shot before [Henderson]. I also think Demian Maia is in the running for [a title shot], too. … We’d like to do another fight at 205 … or a catchweight of some sort.”
Anderson Silva’s utter dismantling of Forrest Griffin on Aug. 8 proved he is real threat at light heavyweight. Although he will never fight for the title as long as his good friend Lyoto Machida sits on the throne, he can still stay active fighting top competition at 205 lbs. while earnest middleweights vie for the number one contender spot.