Sunday, July 28, 2013

Dana White talking with Anderson Silva about a rematch with Chris Weidman, but no deal is done

UFC president Dana White said he was in Los Angeles on Friday, meeting with ex-middleweight champion Anderson Silva about the possibility of a rematch with new champion Chris Weidman.

But White vehemently denied a report in GQ Brazil (Editor's note: Story is in Portuguese) in which Silva was quoted as saying the rematch was made for Dec. 28 at UFC 168 in Las Vegas. Right now, a women's bantamweight title fight between Ronda Rousey and archrival Miesha Tate headlines that card.

There has been much speculation about whether a rematch would be made, and Weidman, during a post-victory media tour earlier this week, told several outlets that a rematch was a done deal and would be held in either December or February.

Weidman won the title by knocking Silva out at UFC 162 at the MGM Grand Garden on July 6, handing the great Brazilian the first UFC loss of his career.

White told Yahoo! Sports via telephone earlier in the week that he felt the bout could draw a massive crowd to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but said "This just feels like one of those huge Vegas fights to me." White has repeatedly said he thinks Silva-Weidman II will be the largest-grossing, best-selling pay-per-view card in UFC history.

"We are talking about a rematch and I am and have been confident I will get it done," White told Yahoo! Sports via text message. "It isn't done yet, though."

Silva said in the cage after the fight that he wasn't interested in fighting for a title again, and reiterated that stance at the post-fight news conference.

But he's apparently had a change of heart in the last several days and is at least open to the possibility of meeting Weidman a second time.

Silva was stopped at 1:18 of the second round when, after putting his hands at his side and taunting Weidman to hit him, he was clipped on the chin by a massive left hook and went down.

Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Brian Stann decides it's time to retire
? Injury forces Mitrione out of Schaub fight
? The five best fights of now-retired Brian Stann's career

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/dana-white-talking-anderson-silva-rematch-chris-weidman-215511289.html

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