Anderson Silva Will Not Fight on Fox Debut Card, but UFC 134 Could Still Play A Factor in Main Event

Anderson Silva at the UFC 126 post-fight press conference

The UFC’s first show on Fox set for Nov 12 in Anaheim will feature a big fight for the main event, but Anderson Silva will not be involved.

Rumors first circled earlier this week that Silva was in the running for the main event of the Fox show for a fight against current Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson.

Sources had indicated that at least one of the fighters had been contacted about the potential fight that hinged on Silva’s performance this weekend at UFC 134 in Rio against Yushin Okami.

Well now, UFC President Dana White has thrown water on those rumors, but still says that the event in Brazil could impact the fight happening on Fox.

“Still working on it, I’m going to watch and see what happens this weekend. No it won’t be Anderson Silva, but what happens this weekend is important,” White said when addressing fans on UStream.

The possibility of a fight between Silva and Henderson always seemed like a long shot considering the Brazilian’s match-up this weekend and only 10 weeks remaining between now and the fight in Anaheim.

A lot of factors would have to go right this weekend as well as Silva’s willingness to take back-to-back fights in such a short amount of time.

While Silva is off the table for the event, White did say that this weekend’s show could impact the Fox card. Could that mean the inclusion of possibly the winner in the co-main event between Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua and Forrest Griffin?

No mention has been given about Dan Henderson still possibly being a contender for the card, and he has been competing at light heavyweight for his last few fights. He also mentioned that he believes 205lbs is his best weight class.

“I’m the most comfortable there, not having to cut weight, not having to jeopardize any energy or anything. I perform the best consistently at light heavy, so I would definitely like to stay there,” Henderson told MMAWeekly Radio just last week.

Time will tell the tale on who will end up on Fox, but White is promising a big main event to make sure their new television partners are happy with the end result.

“It’s going to be a big fight,” White stated. “Obviously we want to go out with a bang and pull big numbers off Fox, the first time we’re going to big fight on Fox.”

Follow @DamonMartin on Twitter or e-mail Damon Martin.
For more UFC News and UFC Rumors, follow MMAWeekly.com on Twitter and Facebook.