We all know that UFC President Dana White proclaims his organization's middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, as the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. But the 33-year-old Silva is already talking about retiring in 2010. So who would be the best pound-for-pound fighter after that?
White says it may be Lyoto Machida.
In a post at Tatame (which apparently comes from an interview conducted in English, translated to Portuguese by Tatame and then translated back to English by Free Fight Videos), White is quoted as saying he thinks Machida could be the next pound-for-pound top fighter in MMA.
Machida, who is 13-0 in his pro MMA career, will take on Thiago Silva at UFC 94, and the obvious question is, if White thinks Machida could be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, why hasn't he gotten a light heavyweight title shot yet?
If he beats Silva, Machida would certainly deserve that shot, but Machida, for all his skill, is not a fan favorite. So he probably needs at least one more win, as the UFC is likely to match up the winner of the UFC 92 main event of Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans with the winner of the UFC 92 undercard fight of Rampage Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva. Once a light heavyweight champion emerges from that group of four, Machida -- if he's still undefeated -- would finally get his chance.
The full translation of the Tatame post is below.
Dana White: Machida is Anderson Successor
After the stunning revelation on Sensei SporTV from Anderson Silva that he could retire soon and following an exclusive interview with UFC heavyweight champion Rodrigo "Minotauro", Sensei SporTV has its biggest guest yet.
Reporter Fernando Kallas showed no signs of intimidation when he met the most powerful promoter in MMA today. There were no questions left unanswered. On Saturday, December 6, Dana White will once again proclaim Anderson Silva to be the best pound for pound fighter in the world. No matter what combat sport or division. He isn't surprised with the possible retirement of Silva after all "Anderson Silva is rich! I'd also retire if I was him", said Dana in jest. Though he doesn't actually believe Anderson will retire any time soon . If it does happen, the president believes Lyoto Machida will become the 'The Spiders" successor.
"Machida has everything to be the next best pound for pound top fighter in MMA," said White.
In the exclusive interview, Dana White talks about a possible UFC event and talks about the mega card at Ultimate 100. He also address the possibility of having Fedor Emelianenko inside the Octagon. He address how he transformed the sport and its image in popular culture. Watch Dana White this Saturday following the Sportv News.
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