UFC 162’s main event has now been set as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will defend his title against Chris Weidman in what should be a very interesting battle of styles.
It was seven months ago that a bout between these two seemed unlikely despite a relative lack of viable contenders in the division. Weidman was coming off of an unbelievable beatdown on fellow top contender Mark Munoz, but many fans simply didn’t know who he was. With only two wins over top-25 opponents, even Silva himself didn’t believe that Weidman was ready.
In fact, Silva went as far as to take a “superfight” in the light heavyweight division against Stephan Bonnar before he even considered fighting Weidman.
Silva, the UFC’s longtime reigning pound-for-pound champion, will be 38 years old next month and might only have a handful of fights left in him. While it’s true that he signed a 10-fight deal with the promotion in December, he may decide at any time that he’s had enough.
With that in mind and the Weidman fight already on the books, let’s take a look at four rumored opponents and where they stack up against the top fighter in the world.