The Slippery Slope of Anderson Silva Fighting at 205 Pounds

The discussion of Anderson Silva fighting at 205 pounds in the light heavyweight division began long ago but has picked up steam since his demolition of Forrest Griffin.

Silva, one of the best fighters on the planet, has both the skills and size to be a force at light heavyweight.

The chatter about a potential division jump has also increased after it was reported that Silva's manager Ed Soares proposed the move be permanent and that Silva was willing to relinquish his middleweight title, with Dana White voicing his agreement.

The move, while exciting for fans, does present a slippery slope that the UFC needs to navigate.

First of all, Silva has stated many times that he would not fight his friend and training partner Lyoto Machida, even before Machida became the light heavyweight champ.  While White says he can make the fight happen, I think he'll be sorely disappointed.

Secondly, by vacating his middleweight title, Silva would be free from his contract's champion's clause. With his win over Griffin, Silva only has three fights remaining on his current contract.

Silva has stated that he wants to retire when his contract runs out but he has also stated that he wouldn't mind trying his hand at boxing. He could also be tagged for a potential superfight with Fedor Emelianenko if he becomes a free agent.

By allowing Silva to vacate his title, the UFC could create an interesting mini-tournament to crown a new champion. The first contender would likely be the winner of the upcoming fight between Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia.

Mix in the winner of a Dan Henderson-Yushin Okami fight and you've got yourself a very sellable champion for the middleweight title.

If this is, in fact, his last UFC contract, I'd personally much rather see Silva fight the likes of Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, and potentially Mauricio Rua.

This is a high-risk, high-reward situation for the UFC as they might be letting the pound-for-pound king out of their grasp in order to put on three memorable and profitable PPVs.