Top 5 Potential Fighters Who Could Face Anderson Silva Next

Anderson Silva is the most dominant champion in UFC history.

He has defeated everyone the UFC has matched up against him. Names like Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Yushin Okami and more. The champ has seemingly done it all.

New challengers are always waiting for the champion, calling him out and moving themselves up the ladder in hopes of somehow securing a title shot against him.

Since Silva defeated his rival Chael Sonnen at UFC 148, many fighters are attempting to stake their place in line to fight him next.

In the following slides, I give you my personal picks (in no particular order) for fighters who have the potential to be fighting Silva next.

Chris Weidman

After his destruction of Mark Munoz on UFC on Fuel TV 4, many think Chris Weidman should be the next person to take on the champion.

Weidman brings high level wrestling combined with excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills and his stand up is ever improving.

Weidman is undefeated in his career so far going 9-0 with his UFC record standing at 5-0. Three of those wins were finishes with the most impressive by far being the victory over Munoz.

Many think Weidman is ready for his shot. For my money's worth I'd want him to fight one more big name at middleweight and if he wins that fight impressively, you have to seriously consider him.

Rashad Evans

This is a very interesting potential fight. Rashad Evans is seemingly out of the light-heavyweight title picture after his UFC 145 loss to Jon Jones. Despite there not being a large amount of potential contenders for Jones, I don't believe Evans will get another shot anytime soon.

Solution? Evans should drop to middleweight to face off against Silva. It's a very interesting fight because Evans is a skilled wrestler, which in the past has been shown as Silva's weakness.

Does Evans have the wrestling skills to keep Silva on his back? That would be his biggest asset.

If Evans were to drop to middleweight I would say he should fight for a top contenders spot right away. Maybe a bout with Chris Weidman would do the trick?

Luke Rockhold

Luke Rockhold is currently the Strikeforce middleweight champion. His overall MMA record stands at 10-1 with his Strikeforce record being an undefeated 9-0.

Rockhold is 27 years old, just entering his fighting prime. He recently defended his title for the second time with a decision win over Tim Kennedy.

Rockhold is athletic, has decent striking, and an underrated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game. However there are to factors stopping him from fighting Silva.

The first is that he's still in Strikeforce and there are no plans to move him into the UFC. The second is that he's unproven against top competition.

If he makes it into the UFC, I would need to see at least a couple of fights to gauge how ready he is, and if he can hang with the top dogs in the UFC middleweight division, he might be ready.

The Winner of Alan Belcher vs. Vitor Belfort

Both of these men are very high up the ladder in the middleweight division.

Belcher has been on a tear since coming back from his surgeries, as he has punched his way to wins over Jason MacDonald, and most recently Rousimar Palhares.

Belfort similarly has been on a streak since losing to Silva. He has rattled off two wins over Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Anthony Johnson, both being finishes.

The winner of these men at UFC 153 should be very close to a title shot. Both are explosive and believe it is their time to be able to dethrone Silva.

Georges St. Pierre

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This fight has a real possibility of coming to fruition. And if it does, oh boy, it could be possibly the biggest UFC fight in history.

Two dominant champions, arguably the top two fighters of their time, fighting each other?

Sign me up please.

Before this fight can happen GSP must first defeat Carlos Condit to unify the welterweight titles. Silva must also face at least one more opponent before this fight can happen.

I don't know for sure if this fight will ever happen. There are too many x-factors to determine the outcome.

But I know one thing for sure. If this fight happens....I definitely need tickets.

Check out my Twitter @FuscoNation16.