UFC Middleweight Champ Anderson Silva Back to 205? “Never Say Never”

Anderson Silva at the UFC 126 post-fight press conference

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will next put his title on the line when he faces Yushin Okami at UFC 134 in August in his home country of Brazil.

Prior to that fight ever being made, UFC president Dana White told the crowd following UFC 128 that Silva had told him specifically that he wanted to fight at middleweight and not go back to 205 pounds, as he had done twice before when the promotion offered him fights in the heavier class.

Silva’s focus is indeed on defending his middleweight title, but if the right opportunity came up at light heavyweight, there’s a very famous phrase that goes something like “never say never.”

“If there’s opportunities that happen to be the right opportunities at the right time, then we’ll take them. But right now he’s focused on the middleweight title,” Silva’s manager Ed Soares told MMAWeekly Radio.

White had mentioned that Silva always felt he was a middleweight, and never really expressed a great interest in fighting at 205 pounds. While it’s true that Silva has spent the majority of his time at 185 pounds, the biggest fights in the sport are what the Brazilian is focused on.

In the future, that may even mean a return to light heavyweight.

“I don’t know if he’s always felt that,” Soares commented about Silva’s mindset always being at 185 pounds. “He’s focused on defending his middleweight title, that’s his weight class, that’s where he feels comfortable at.”

Like anything else in this sport, there’s no telling what the future holds or what fights could come up for Silva as he continues his reign of terror a top the middleweight division, and is locked in a battle with Georges St-Pierre for the designation of MMA’s pound-for-pound best.

And that phrase that everyone’s heard before? Well, it’s true, at least according to Silva’s manager.

“You can never say never, that’s for sure,” Soares stated.

Silva’s main focus, at least for the next six months, is getting ready to avenge the last loss on his professional record, as he faces Yushin Okami in the main event of the upcoming UFC 134 event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. If he’s able to settle that score, then Silva will think about what’s next or what weight class he may entertain.

Damon Martin is the lead staff writer and radio host for MMAWeekly.com.
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