5 possible opponents for Anderson Silva's UFC return

#2: Chris Weidman

Chris Weidman dethroned Silva back in 2013

Weidman’s two victories over Silva in 2013 were the watershed moment in the career of ‘The Spider’ – prior to the first loss he was the untouchable pound-for-pound great, but after the second loss it felt like he’d sailed past his prime overnight. So why would a second rematch make sense 5 years down the line?

Well, firstly, despite Weidman largely dominating both fights, controversy marred the finish to both. The first saw Silva knocked out after becoming too over-confident in his trademark ‘clowning’, and the second saw the Brazilian’s leg snap like a twig after Weidman checked a leg kick attempt. So the UFC could easily market the idea of unfinished business between the two.

Secondly, since losing the title he won from Silva to Luke Rockhold in 2015, Weidman has been on the kind of slide that means he’s no longer such a terrifying opponent for ‘The Spider’. He managed to snap a three-fight skid last July by beating Kelvin Gastelum, but he looks slower than ever before and his chin no longer appears to be capable of withstanding major damage.

Sure, it could end with a third victory for Weidman – making it as one-sided a trilogy as Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn or Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock – but it’d give Anderson a chance to avenge his biggest losses and it’d probably draw a solid number as a co-main event which would make it worth booking.