TORRANCE, Calif. – Chris Weidman (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) appears as though he'll get his long-desired title shot with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-4 MMA, 16-0 UFC), and if everything goes to plan, it'll go down in July.
UFC President Dana White today confirmed the possibility, which Tatame.com first reported earlier today.
If booked the fight likely would likely headline the UFC's traditional pay-per-view offering on Independence Day weekend in Las Vegas. The likely date would be July 6.
"That's what we want, but no, we don't have it yet," White said today of the fight. "We've been talking (with Silva). It's not done, but we'll get it done."
Weidman has long campaigned for the fight, and though officials initially appeared they'd go another direction, White ultimately relented earlier this month and said he'd likely be next for the champion.
Weidman's title hopes recently got a boost when fellow contender Michael Bisping suffered a loss to Vitor Belfort, which cost the Brit a promised a title shot. But Weidman, a former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, has put together a worthy body of work, including a perfect 9-0 record and wins over UFC notables such as Mark Munoz and Demian Maia.
He'd face what is clearly his biggest test yet in Silva, who's emerged as arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history with 17 consecutive wins, 16 straight UFC victories and 10 successful title defenses. Most recently, he followed a title win over Chael Sonnen with a non-title victory over Stephan Bonnar in a 205-pound non-title fight in this past October's UFC 153 headliner.
Source: MMAJunkie.com