Anderson Silva: I Would Give Up Fighting if I Had to Fight Against Lyoto Machida

---

After passing through Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Bristol, Conn., Miami and Rio de Janeiro, the “UFC 168 World Tour” concluded Monday in Sao Paulo.

The seven-city, seven-day press tour was promotion for the Dec. 28 rematch between UFC middleweight titleholder Chris Weidman and former champ Anderson Silva, but reporters had other potential matchups in mind for “The Spider.” UFC President Dana White addressed questions about matching Silva against training partners Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

“Anderson Silva is an interesting man,” said White. “Anderson cares about the guys he trains with and everything else, but don’t ever kid yourself on the type of competitor he is. He isn’t where he is today because he’s not a competitor.

“So, when you ask questions about people that he’s friends with and people that he respects, of course that’s what he’s going to say. But, I truly believe, myself, when it comes down to it-- let’s say Lyoto Machida comes down at 185 pounds, and Anderson Silva has the title, and Lyoto Machida makes the decision that he wants his title. I think you will see the competitor in Anderson Silva come out. We’ll see what happens.”

After White’s response, Silva raised his hand to speak and reiterate his position on the matter.

“I’ve already said it, and I’ll say it again: Lyoto and myself, we are brothers. Jacare and myself, we are friends, camp friends,” Silva said. “We have a code of honor amongst ourselves, which is that we don’t fight against ourselves, regardless of wins or losses, money, fame or not. So, I would give up fighting, if necessary, if I had to fight against Lyoto.”