Erick Silva: 'My wish would be a fight against Rick Story'

Erick Silva is an enigma. He completely blows away lower-level competition, but has yet to pick up a signature win against a top fighter in the UFC. Silva (17-5, 1 NC, 5-4 UFC) says he's ready for tougher competition against after a quick submission win over Mike Rhodes at UFC Fight Night 58 last week - and his choices are either someone new or a rematch against two foes that vanquished him previously. He spoke to Combate about his aspirations:

"My wish would be a fight against Rick Story, which is a very good athlete, the public really likes his style and I think a fight against him would be very good for the event and the fans would love it. I also want to fight again against Dong Hyun Kim, in a rematch. It would be very important, because the South Korean had a very hard-hitting win over me and I have not swallowed that defeat, so I want a rematch with him. Passing by Kim, I will definitely want a rematch with Matt Brown and move up one step at a time. We are already thinking about it, and my head is turned 100-percent for my future."

I'm not sure how much the public loves Story (18-8, 11-6 UFC) and his style, but he would be an excellent challenge for the 30-year-old Brazilian. He's coming off a split decision win over Gunnar Nelson in his last bout and has won three of his last four. As for the rematches, I highly doubt that we'll see them anytime soon but stranger things have happened.