Anderson Silva won't fight other Brazilians for UFC title

When he was the UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva fought a number of fellow Brazilians. A few of them really seemed to be personal feuds as well, including his bout against Demian Maia and his title defense against Vitor Belfort.

In a recent interview with Brazilian outlet Globo, "The Spider" has changed his tune a bit. The former champ says that he'd be happy to fight to reclaim the 185 pound world title one day, if he manages to work his way back up the rankings.

However, if a Brazilian like Belfort gets hold of the belt before him, Silva says he has no interest. "I'm at another phase," he said.

"If I have the chance to fight for the title again against Weidman or another fighter other than a Brazilian, I would fight for sure."

Silva, of course, has been out of action for more than a year since breaking a leg in half in his rematch against Weidman in December, 2013. The long-time middleweight king returns to action at the end of this month in the main event of UFC 183 against Nick Diaz.

Other Braziian middleweights like Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza are knocking at the title's door, of course. As for Belfort, he challenges Weidman for the strap in late February at UFC 184.

Though he had a heated rivalry with Belfort in the past, Silva says that "The Phenom" deserves unified Brazilian support, now.

"Vitor is the UFC fighter that has been around for longest," he said.

"He became a champ when he was 19 years old and deserves this opportunity to fight for the belt again. I believe that he'll win. This belt is Brazil's."

With the long list of Brazilian middleweights vying for the belt now, or possibly in the near future, it would appear that Silva will have to be content with superfights the likes of which he has on his plate at UFC 183. Diaz himself has not fought since March, 2013, when he lost a decision to then welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

Diaz is moving up fifteen pounds in weight to take on Silva. Do you think Silva is content to let other countrymen have their shot at glory, after his long run, or has he simply resigned himself to the idea that he'll likely never reach that championship level again?

Let us know what you think in the comments section and on Twitter!