Anderson Silva: Power Ranking Possible Opponents in Weidman, GSP, Jones and Diaz

UFC 162's main event has now been set as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will defend his title against Chris Weidman in what should be a very interesting battle of styles. 

It was seven months ago that a bout between these two seemed unlikely despite a relative lack of viable contenders in the division. Weidman was coming off of an unbelievable beatdown on fellow top contender Mark Munoz, but many fans simply didn't know who he was. With only two wins over top-25 opponents, even Silva himself didn't believe that Weidman was ready. 

In fact, Silva went as far as to take a "superfight" in the light heavyweight division against Stephan Bonnar before he even considered fighting Weidman. 

Silva, the UFC's longtime reigning pound-for-pound champion, will be 38 years old next month and might only have a handful of fights left in him. While it's true that he signed a 10-fight deal with the promotion in December, he may decide at any time that he's had enough. 

With that in mind and the Weidman fight already on the books, let's take a look at four rumored opponents and where they stack up against the top fighter in the world. 

4. Nick Diaz

Odds of a Silva Victory: 85 percent

Silva's Biggest Advantage: Size

Silva's Biggest Disadvantage: Diaz's non-stop aggression 

UFC welterweight No. 1 contender Nick Diaz recently spoke about his desire to not only beat Georges St-Pierre but also move down to fight Benson Henderson and up to challenge Anderson Silva. 

Call him crazy all you want, but Diaz gets it when it comes to "superfights." Unfortunately, this particular superfight just isn't one that he should be getting himself into. 

Diaz isn't even one of the biggest 170-pounders and he'd be up against one of the biggest middleweights in the company—one who even dabbles a bit at 205 pounds—and one who hasn't actually been beaten in over eight years. 

There's no doubt that a Silva-Diaz fight would be entertaining with Diaz's constant pressure versus Silva's counterstriking, but this is the kind of fight that is tailor-made for an Anderson Silva knockout. 

3. Chris Weidman

Odds of a Silva Victory: 80 percent

Silva's Biggest Advantage: Striking

Silva's Biggest Disadvantage: Wrestling

The only fight on this list that has actually been booked is the upcoming UFC 162 bout between Anderson Silva and top middleweight contender Chris Weidman.

Weidman, a two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler from Hofstra, presents an interesting test for Silva. 

We've seen Silva struggle in the past with Chael Sonnen and other wrestlers, so Weidman's youth and impressive wrestling pedigree should make things very interesting, particularly if he gets the fight to the ground. Unfortunately, his MMA wrestling isn't quite on the level of Sonnen's at this point, so he could have a tough time bringing down and staying on top of the top middleweight in the world.

While Weidman does possess some devastating stand-up power as he showed in the Munoz bout, he will stand little chance against Silva if the fight stays on the feet. 

2. Georges St-Pierre

Odds of a Silva Victory: 70 percent

Silva's Biggest Advantage: Striking

Silva's Biggest Disadvantage: Wrestling

Oddsmakers apparently disagree with this one as they have actually given Chris Weidman a better chance against Silva in their upcoming bout than they did Georges St-Pierre in a hypothetical bout against Silva (h/t BestFightOdds.com).

Certainly Weidman has looked good at times, but St-Pierre is just way too dominant to deny at this point. Granted, he's doing it at a lighter weight class, but GSP has become the absolute master of game-planning for his fights. 

Like Weidman, St-Pierre's biggest advantage would have to be in his wrestling where he has absolutely abused the likes of BJ Penn, Carlos Condit and countless others. But as we have seen in some of those fights, the welterweight champion has also allowed himself to have moments of weakness, especially in the striking game.

We saw Condit catch St-Pierre with a huge head kick and he still wasn't unable to finish. Rest assured that if Silva connected in a similar manner, there's little doubt that he would put an end to GSP's 10-fight win streak in the Octagon.

1. Jon Jones

Odds of a Silva Victory: 45 percent

Silva's Biggest Advantage: Jiu-jitsu 

Silva's Biggest Disadvantage: Size

Some might call me crazy, but yes, in this hypothetical bout of UFC pound-for-pound kings, I would actually put my money on light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones. 

At 6'4", Jones stands two inches taller than the middleweight champion, but it's his seven-inch reach advantage that gives him such a huge advantage in this fight. Silva's lankiness helps him fight from the outside, picking apart his opponents. He would not be able to do that—or even come close to doing so—against Jones.

Not only would the reach advantage be significant in this bout, but Jones' natural weight and strength give him a huge advantage even against a large middleweight like Silva. While Silva is big enough to compete at 205, Jones could realistically fight in the heavyweight division and be a decent-sized fighter within that division. 

Silva's biggest weakness has been his wrestling and Jones, while not an elite-level MMA wrestler, has the power to take Silva down and hold him there in the same way that Chael Sonnen did. The difference is that Jones could do some serious damage from the top, as we've seen in just about every one of his fights. 

By bringing the fight to the ground, however, Jones would be leaving himself open to his biggest admitted weakness and one of Silva's biggest strengths—the jiu-jitsu game. 

Silva, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, has submitted countless opponents throughout his career and has done so even in fights that he was getting dominated in. Although he's not one of the absolute elite in the sport, he is certainly good enough to make Jones pay if he were to make any mistakes on the ground. 

All things considered, this is the most competitive fight that the UFC could possibly book for Anderson Silva at the moment, but it's not one that anyone should be holding their breath for.