White: Lyoto Machida could be next in line with UFC Fight Night 36 win

Saying his 185-pound division has “never been more exciting,” UFC President Dana White on Wednesday said the next big matchup in the division could produce the next fighter in line to fight for the title.

Champion Chris Weidman rules the roost at middleweight after his back-to-back wins over Anderson Silva in 2013. Next up, he’ll meet Vitor Belfort in the UFC 173 main event on Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas.

But White, speaking to FOX Sports 1's “FOX Sports Live,” said next week’s fight between former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (20-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) and Gegard Mousasi (34-3-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) could be a crucial one.

“The Vitor Belfort-Chris Weidman fight has to happen first,” White said. “But yes, if Machida wins, he could possibly be next in line for a title shot.”

Machida this past October finally made the drop to middleweight after years of conversations about if the move would be the best one for him. And he made a quick impact, knocking out Mark Munoz with a head kick in England.

Machida and Mousasi meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night 36 on Feb. 15 at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The event airs on FOX Sports 1 with preliminary-card action streaming on UFC Fight Pass.

A win there, though, and Machida would have a wait of more than three months for the Belfort-Weidman fight in May. And White singled out some other fighters who could make things at middleweight intriguing in the coming months. But it doesn’t appear the same potential for a title shot would be extended Mousasi’s way with an upset victory over Machida.

“The thing that makes this 185-pound division so interesting and so exciting right now is, obviously Chris Weidman looked unbelievable in his two fights against Anderson Silva and is the new champ,” White said. “But (look) who you’ve got waiting in the wings now. You’ve got Vitor Belfort next, you have (Ronaldo) ‘Jacare’ Souza, you have Lyoto Machida, and the list goes on and on of all these nasty, nasty guys at 185 pounds. And let’s not forget, Anderson Silva could be back in a year, and he’s still the No. 1-ranked (contender) in the world. So that division has never been more exciting.”

In the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, Weidman is No. 1, followed by Anderson Silva at No. 2, Belfort at No. 3 and Souza at No. 4. After just one fight in the division, Machida made a quick entry at No. 6.

For more on UFC Fight Night 36, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.