Dana White addresses Anderson Silva's UFC middleweight title shot situation

On January 7th, Dana White declared that Anderson Silva would be granted a title shot with a win over Nick Diaz at UFC 183. This despite Diaz having 0 appearances at middleweight and no wins since 2011, and the fact that he's 0-2 vs. current champion Chris Weidman. There's also the aspect of Silva's own admission that he doesn't want to fight other Brazilians, which would nix an Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort 2 rematch should Belfort defeat Weidman.

Silva himself feels that he's multiple wins away from competing for the belt again, but in an interview with Fox Sports 1, Dana White addressed Silva's future: (Via MMA Fighting)

"I think that on Saturday night, we'll see where he's at," White said in an interview on FOX Sports 1. "He's an absolute professional, he's done everything he needs to do to prepare for this fight. He's back in shape, I think it's just a mental thing, he has to get out there and see how he feels."

As far as Silva's reluctance to fight his fellow countrymen, White had this to say:

"I don't think he needs 3-4 fights to get back to the title," White said. "But if he feels that way, he's the No. 1 ranked guy in the world, he can fight Jacare Souza, he can fight Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero ... He starts getting very limited when he doesn't want to fight Brazilians or other guys. Three of the top guys in the world are Brazilian. Anderson always has some crazy things to say before the fight."

Of course, all of this is dependent on how Silva looks against Diaz. A lackluster showing or even a loss will make all of this speculation nearly moot.