Anderson Silva likes a challenge. Right now, his only challenge may be Georges St. Pierre.

The pound-for-pound king and reigning middleweight champion spoke to Mike Straka on his show “Fighting Words with Mike Straka” and had this to say about a potential superfight with GSP (courtesy of MMAJunkie.com):

“Georges St-Pierre is one of the best,” Silva said through an interpreter. “He’s shown that he’s a great athlete, and I really train hard everyday to fight the best. I do believe it’s a superfight, and it’s a fight that must happen someday.”

Both men still have one test in front of them for this fight to happen as GSP must get past Jake Shields next Saturday and Silva will now face Yushin Okami at UFC 134 in late August.

Both champions seem to be heavy favorites to win their fights but both of their opponents have the skills to pull off the upset.

Shields has the best submission grappling that St. Pierre has ever faced and Okami has the strength and wrestling background to get Silva to the ground.

If both champions win, it likely sets up the long-awaited GSP-Silva showdown around the end of 2011. It would be the biggest fight in UFC history and truly be the showcase of the top two fighters in all of MMA, in my opinion.

This week I turn my rankings to the middleweight division.

Really, the field is Anderson Silva and everyone else.

Still, here is my take. If you need to go back and find my pound-for-pound, heavyweight, or light heavyweight rankings, click on the links.

1. Anderson Silva (28-4) – Silva is my top fighter in any weight class, let alone middleweight. “The Spider” is like an artist in the cage. He rarely throws a strike that doesn’t land and he doesn’t waste energy while fighting. Everything he does has a purpose and thought to it. Chael Sonnen may have found a small hole in his game with his takedown defense, but he still managed to submit Sonnen and then bounce back with a devastating front kick to Vitor Belfort in the first round of his last title defense. Up next is Yushin Okami, had poses the right skill set to give Silva problems.

2. Chael Sonnen (25-11-1) – Sonnen is almost here by default. The other top guys in the group have either lost to him, or lost to someone that he has beaten. Sonnen is a grinder and a tremendous wrestler, but he has a clear weakness in his submission defense. Eight of his 11 losses have come by submission. Sonnen is also coming off a long layoff from a steroid suspension and legal issues. We will see if he can get back to being the fighter that nearly dethroned Silva.

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Some of the bigger news to emerge this past weekend in the UFC was a report that Yushin Okami will take on Anderson Silva for the middleweight title at UFC Rio in August.

I made light of the fact that many media pundits believe that this fight would spell the end of the Silva-Georges St. Pierre super fight that appeared to be in the works.

I actually think that the plans for Silva-Okami just play more into the super fight taking place.

GSP has stated many times that if he was going to take the fight with Silva, he would surrender his welterweight title and take some time to properly put on weight and be in the right condition for the fight. As a welterweight, GSP would probably need at least six months to truly focus on strength training and putting on another 10 pounds of muscle to his frame.

GSP takes on Jake Shields at the end of April and a win there will clearly clean out the division, leaving no legitimate contenders that he has not already beaten handily. He could then begin his training to move to middleweight and that would put him in place to fight in the winter. I would expect the UFC to target his return for either their New Year’s weekend show in late December or their Super Bowl weekend show in early February.

If that is the case, Silva last fought on Super Bowl Weekend of 2011, beating Vitor Belfort by first round KO with a front kick. If Silva didn’t fight Okami, that would put him off for nearly a year. The UFC clearly doesn’t want their top fighter sitting out that long without good reason, so putting him in his home country in August makes sense. A win over Okami (which I don’t think will be that easy) would still give him about four months to prepare for GSP, which is standard for most fights.

Typically the UFC looks to put on its top shows in December and February, which to me makes this fight make even more sense now with the latest developments.

While GSP has never committed to leaving the welterweight division after this next fight, he also has never said he won’t. I think after his UFC 129 fight is over, GSP will come up with a game plan and announce the move. Then it will be up to Silva to defend his title successfully against Okami.

With GSP’s wrestling ability and footwork, I think he has as good of a chance as anyone to dethrone Silva. Silva has a weakness with takedown defense once guys get inside his range and GSP will be smart enough and athletic enough to do that. It should be a great matchup physically and mentally.

Lost in the shadows of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley Saturday night was a pretty eventful weekend in the MMA community.

Here are a few things I think you should know about:

-Saturday night, Bellator 40 took place and rising MMA star, Ben Askren, remained undefeated with a unanimous decision win over Nick Thompson in the main event. The two-time NCAA champion continued to show dominant wrestling form against Thompson, who was helpless against Askren’s takedown ability. Askren changed levels, worked in some striking, and had the cardio to dominate for 15 minutes. Askren is now 8-0 and, if he continues to develop his striking, he can be a real force in the national picture. In other bouts, Jay Hieron picked up a decision win over Brent Weedman to advance to the finals of the Bellator Welterweight Tournament, where he will face unbeaten Rick Hawn. In the Bellator Lightweight Tournament, Michael Chandler won a decision over Lloyd Woodard to advance to the tournament final against Patricky Freire.

-On Friday night, MFC 29 took place on HDNet and UFC veterans Marcus Davis, Hermes Franca, and Pete Spratt each picked up wins. Davis won a split decision over Curtis Demarce in his first fight after being cut by the UFC. Franca knocked out Robert Washington just 26 seconds into the second round, giving him two straight wins. Spratt pulled off an armbar submission in the second round of his fight against Demi Deeds. The win ended a two-fight losing streak for Spratt.

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