"Trust me: This is the fight business. You know what you do in the fight business? You fight guys. You find out who's the best. I don't ever worry about guys saying they won't fight. Everybody [who should fight] will wind up fighting in the end."
- Dana White tells Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole that a possible match up between Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, should both fighters end up 1-2 in the UFC's light heavyweight division, would be just a matter of time.
Iole reports that Silva, who walks around at 215 lbs., may be moving up permanently to light heavyweight (205 lbs.) from middleweight (185 lbs.) before long.
Ed Soares, who manages both fighters, has stated that the two good friends and occasional training partners would never fight one another and that it would take $100 million to get them in the cage. Silva and Machida have both echoed similar sentiments in the past as well with Silva going as far as conceding the light heavyweight belt to Machida, stating, "The light heavyweight belt belongs to (Machida). That is his division."
However, with challenges and challengers at middleweight dwindling, Silva may be forced to rethink that strategy. He's already agreed to face former champion and current top light heavyweight contender Forrest Griffin. A win would surely put Silva near the top of the divisions' title shot pecking order. And if Silva decides on a permanent move to the division, it won't be to hold down number one contender status. At that point, if the past is any indication, White will likely be able to swing something to make the fight happen.
All of this is moot, however, unless three things fall into place first:
1. Machida and Silva must stay undefeated through their next few fights. It won't be easy. Machida will face Quinton "Rampage" Jackson after the two battle it out as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter reality show next season. That should keep Machida tied up long enough for Silva to buzz through his next two fights, which include the aforementioned Griffin at UFC 101 and a showdown with the winner of a fight between current TUF 9 coaches Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping. Assuming he gets through those two fights, there are rumors of a possible match up with current welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, provided St. Pierre can get past Thiago Alves in his next outing.
2. Silva must establish himself as the clear number 1 contender in the light heavyweight division. If Silva defeats Forrest Griffin at UFC 101, he'll likely need another win over a top contender in the division to cement himself as the clear number 1 contender. A win over Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans or Mauricio Rua should do it.
3. Dana White must be able to deliver on his promise to get these two in a cage.
Given camp time and set fight dates, a fight between the two could go down early to mid 2010 if everything falls just right.
Link: http://www.fiveknuckles.com/mma-news/Dana-White-confident-in-ability-to-pit-Anderson-Silva-vs-Lyoto-Machida.html"