Anderson Silva Wants Biggest Fights Possible: Silva vs. Brock Lesnar?

Manager Ed Soares updated mixed martial arts fans with the latest on what Anderson Silva wants today on "Inside MMA" on HDNet .

"He wants to be in the biggest fights possible: where it's [Georges St. Pierre], whether it'd be at light heavyweight, or whether it'd even be at heavyweight," Soares said. "It doesn't make a difference. He wants to be involved in the biggest fights possible."

"If that GSP fight is something that fans want to watch, that's going to be a big pay-per-view, (and) it's going to be a fight, we'll take it," he said.

Translation: Silva is indifferent to who he actually fights; he just wants fights that will generate the most PPV buys and put more money into his pocket. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Soares laid out the options pretty clearly: St. Pierre, a third fight at light heavyweight, or exploring uncharted waters in the heavyweight division.

One option Soares failed to mention was Silva defending his middleweight belt. So much for Nate Marquardt getting a rematch with "The Spider."

While all three are intriguing possibilities, which one is most likely to precede Silva vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 112? Lets take a look at all three options in greater detail:

Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre

This matchup has been talked about so often, you'd believe it's not a matter of if, but when. Most people think it will happen in Toronto in front of 50,000 screaming Canadians.

The first thing holding up the fight is St. Pierre's weight coupled with his hesitancy to move up to middleweight. "Rush," who is not in one to move up, said that if he did move up, it would be for good, and that he wouldn’t fight his training partners.

Because Silva doesn’t care who he fights, and Soares said they’ll take it, it seems the only thing holding back this superfight from happening is St. Pierre—or the UFC, if it doesn’t want to pit its two best pound-for-pound fighters against each other.

While this fight has a chance of happening, it isn't the one most likely to happen first.

Silva vs. Light Heavyweight Stalwart

Silva has already knocked off a former light heavyweight champion. So what's left for Silva to prove besides taking on the winner of the Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua fight?

Because we know Silva vs. Machida isn’t likely to happen, Rua becomes an attractive option, whether he beats Machida or not. It could simply be a matter of whether Silva skirmishes with “Shogun” for the title or not.

Another option—and one that could generate the most PPV buys—would involve Silva taking on the winner of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Rashad Evans. The only drawback to that fight would be that the UFC risks losing a very marketable No. 1 contender to the belt.

A final money-making alternative at light heavyweight would be Silva taking on UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture. That fight would be contingent upon Couture beating Mark Coleman at UFC 109, then being passed over as the next in line for a title shot.

While most fans believe Couture would get destroyed by the unofficial pound-for-pound champ, it would remain an intriguing matchup that would likely bring in a lot of PPV buys. But would it mark the end of the line for “The Natural?”

With all the possibilities at light heavyweight, and it being Silva's most natural weight, a fight at 205 seems most likely—although against whom is anyone's guess.

Silva vs. Heavyweight

This option has the most plot and may be the least likely to happen.

It would even more improbable to believe the UFC would rush Silva into a fight with one of its Top 6 heavyweights: Brock Lesnar through Junior dos Santos.

Ultimately, any of those fights would be the most compelling, but would it be worth having Silva potentially humiliate a Top 5 heavyweight only to retire a year later?

When the UFC wanted to let Silva test the waters at light heavyweight, they gave him James "The Sandman" Irvin. At heavyweight, they could give Silva another mostly one- dimensional, stand-up fighter like Gilbert Yvel or the Paul Buentello/Cheick Kongo winner.

And if they wanted to book a fight that bordered on "freak show," but one that everyone would tune into, what about Silva vs. Roy Nelson or Kimbo Slice?

While the idea of Silva fighting at heavyweight is more than just a novelty, it remains an X-factor for now—and one that might just be too much for UFC President Dana White to consider.

After Silva fights Belfort, he has two fights remaining on his UFC contract. Who do you want to see him fight before possibly retiring?