A Memo to Anderson Silva Fans: Start Rooting Against Lyoto Machida

Lyoto Machida will finally get his long awaited title shot against Rashad Evans at UFC 98.

Now that Machida is within striking distance, it’s the perfect time for hardcore Anderson Silva fans to start rooting against the elusive and undefeated Brazilian.

Anderson Silva has publicly proclaimed he feels Machida is the rightful heir to the 205 pound title.

Thus, Silva has remained resistant about diving head first into the deep waters of the light heavyweight division.

But what if Rashad hands Lyoto his first loss?

What if, unlike King Arthur, Machida is unable to pull the proverbial sword from the stone? Then, what fate would the MMA gods have in store for the vaunted light heavyweight division?

If Machida does in fact falter, he would be at least two or three fights removed from another title shot. Assuming Yves Lavigne isn’t referring and he stops the fight before it starts.

Silva would have the perfect aperture to make his run at the 205 pound title with a Machida loss. Perhaps, “The Spider” is the one with the actual birth right to sit atop the light heavyweight throne.

Timing will play a part in all of this. If Machida loses at UFC 98, Silva will be waiting in the wings, coming off his UFC 97 win over Thales Leites.

The UFC could then put together a fight between Anderson Silva and the winner of Chuck Liddell vs. Shogun Rua, who also fight at UFC 97. At the same time, a fight between Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson would be come together.

If Silva were to beat the winner of Liddell-Rua then the UFC would justify a title shot for him agaisnt the winner of Evans vs. Jackson.

Who else would deserve a shot ahead of Anderson Silva? Perhaps Forrest Griffin or Luis Cane would have the most audible gripes.

While this scenario is widely speculative, perhaps Silva fans can begin fashioning their Lyoto Machida voodoo dolls and commence with the “pin sticking” about a week prior to UFC 98.

And for those that are both Silva and Machida fans, perhaps you can continue to dream about a fight between the two, which is less likely to happen than the preceding scenario.