Anderson Silva Says He Won't Leave the Middleweight Division

Anderson Silva has no intentions on leaving the middleweight division.

The constant demand for the Brazilian to change weight classes has been ongoing for a few years. But despite having previous success at 205 pounds, Silva doesn't plan on going anywhere and vacating the UFC middleweight title.

Silva said some of his teammates compete in the heavier weight classes. As a result, he won't move up.

"'We have a couple of athletes on the above division, which are Rafael Feijao (Strikeforce), who’s a big name in the division and Fabio Maldonado, who just fought and lost by points. We have many guys in this division,'" Silva told TATAME.com. 

Silva has not been the only fighter whom fans have dreamed of seeing switching weight classes, in hopes of watching potential fights with some of the sport's top stars. Other champions like Georges St-Pierre and Jose Aldo have also faced the same amount of criticism.

It's often the case when one fighter tends to dominate his division that fans believe a possible move to a heavier weight class could benefit his career. It was no more evident than in his bout against Forrest Griffin in 2009, when Silva displayed such skill and ability to dispatch his larger opponent in less than three minutes.

Of course, if Silva were to move up, he'd likely face current champion Jon Jones, but "The Spider" believes there are plenty of contenders that could challenge the 24-year-old.

"'I’m gonna leave it to Maldonado, Feijao or even Rogerio (Nogueira) too. They are on his weight division, so they’ll deal with him,'" he said to TATAME.com. 

Meanwhile, Silva is currently preparing for a title defense against Chael Sonnen scheduled for UFC 148.