During Saturday nights post fight press conference for UFC 126, promotion President Dana White was asked about a potential bout between UFC middleweights Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) and Brian Stann (10-3), as to whether the fight was actually going to happen or not after multiple reports of ‘Yes, No’ concerning the bouts status.
White told the gathered media “It’s on, it’s on.”
The potential matchup first surfaced in mid-January and seemed to be confirmed earlier this week on the latest episode of the UFC’s “Inside the Octagon” report, but a news report from MMAFighting.com shed doubt on the legitimacy of the bout.
Now the UFC President is saying that the fight will happen, he just has to convince Silva to take the fight.
“He doesn’t want to fight Brian Stann. He’s like, ‘Fuck that. Everybody is going to hate me if I fight Brian Stann. Everybody loves Brian Stann.’ But that’s the fight we’re trying to make right now. He’s not afraid to fight Stann. He thinks, ‘Everyone will hate me if I fight this guy.’ No one’s going to hate you if you fight him, Wanderlei. People love you.’”
If the fight does happen it’s likely to go down at UFC 130 on May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.