Shogun Rua vs. Anderson Silva? Rua Would Accept Fight If UFC Asked

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua is going to coach Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil opposite ex-longtime middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva, and while they aren't scheduled to fight at the end of the season, Shogun is open to the idea. 

In an interview with Brazilian media outlet Combate, the former PRIDE champ explained that he'd sling some leather with The Spider if the UFC made the offer (translation via Bloody Elbow). 

"

The UFC called Eduardo (Alonso, Shogun's manager) giving him the news that Anderson and I were going to be the TUF coaches and that we weren't going to fight each other. But I'm really happy about taking part of TUF, even further because of Anderson, a living legend. Fighting against him wasn't something that I wanted. We trained together. But I would accept if the UFC asked.

"

Rua, who has lost three of his past four fights, headlines UFC Fight Night 56 Friday night against Strikeforce import Ovince St. Preux in front of a Uberlandia, Brazil, home crowd.

OSP enters the matchup a winner in five of his past six fights, though he lost a clear-cut decision to Ryan Bader at UFC Fight Night 47 in August after being outwrestled for five rounds in his most recent contest. 

Silva, 39, recently signed a new 15-fight deal with the UFC, via MMA Junkie, and is currently scheduled to battle former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January. 

In the event both Silva and Rua win their upcoming bouts convincingly, a scrap between the two could potentially be an entertaining affair, though it would be close to meaningless in the 185- or 205-pound title pictures. 

That being said, would a Silva vs. Rua be a fight worth paying for?

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.