Anderson Silva played down speculations that he is still aching to avenge his twin defeats to Chris Weidman, saying that he is not interested in facing the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion again.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Silva stressed that Weidman is not a part of his future plans anymore, saying that there is no point for a rematch after losing in their first two matches.
"Rematch with Chris Weidman is something that is not in my plans. He already defeated me twice, everybody saw this," Silva said.
The former UFC middleweight kingpin added that other fighters - like Lyoto Machida and Jacare Souza - deserve a shot against Weidman, saying that he'd rather let them face Weidman to give them an opportunity to shine.
"Lyoto has an opportunity to fight him, we also have 'Jacare', who's coming and looking for his way. Let's root for them to get their space in the UFC and get their shot at the title, win it, become great champions and bring big wins for Brazil," Silva said.
Weidman, on the other hand, admitted that Silva played a big role in his rise to stardom, but he also insisted that he has to move on, sounding like he is also not willing to face the Brazilian again.
"I'm happy to move past it, but it's also kind of a bummer to move past Anderson Silva because it was a big part of my life," Silva said via Fox Sports. "I was visualizing fighting that guy since I got into the sport. So he was a big motivating factor in my life for a long time so to move past it is kind of bittersweet. Now I get to start my own era and show everybody what I'm made of."
With Weidman out of the picture when he makes his return to action in 2015, Silva, who is still recovering from the gruesome leg injury he sustained in his rematch with Weidman in December last year, could face Nick Diaz.
When asked if he is willing to face the retired mixed martial artist, Silva said that he will agree as long as the fight fans want the showdown to happen.
"Well, if everybody is saying that it would be an interesting fight, what am I going to say? It could be an interesting fight," Silva said.
