Silva's 'Clone' Not Available, So He'll Get Henderson Next

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Saturday, March 1, 2008; Page E02

After Anderson Silva clubbed middleweight contender Rich Franklin for the second time in Ultimate Fighting Championship 77, UFC President Dana White proclaimed Silva "the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world."

Asked who he would like to take on in his next fight, Silva said there was just one man up to the task.

"I would love to fight my clone," he said.

White hasn't found a way to make that bout happen, but he lobbied hard to create tonight's UFC 82 showdown in Columbus, Ohio, between Silva, the UFC's middleweight champion, and Dan Henderson, the last man to claim the Pride middleweight belt.

Henderson had to be persuaded to drop from his preferred light heavyweight class (205 pounds) to the 185-pound middleweight division, and that wasn't easy. Henderson said he finally buckled after months of coaxing because he was going to face Silva.

"You know, [I took the fight because of] what he's done in the UFC," Henderson said. "He's somebody that it would be an honor to get in there and test myself. I get up for the challenges, and he's a big challenge. He's dangerous, and to be able to fight him and challenge myself in that way is what I [strive] for."

Silva, 32, has won his past six fights, with four ending in the first round and all but one ending with a technical knockout or knockout. The other victory was via submission.

The Muay Thai specialist claimed the championship from Franklin on Oct. 14, 2006, in UFC 64; he defended it against Nate Marquardt in UFC 73 and again against Franklin on Oct. 20, 2007.

Silva (20-4) said he is quite humble. He said he doesn't consider himself the top fighter in the world and that Henderson (22-6) is also a great champion. Henderson, 37, is coming off a loss to light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson in his UFC debut.

"He's dangerous out in the open, he's dangerous in the clench and he's shown that he's got a submission or two that he can catch you with," Henderson said. "So I think I need to be concerned with every aspect of him."

Since Henderson couldn't exactly answer how to take on Silva, Silva was posed the question. How would he defeat his clone?

"That's a very difficult question," Silva said through an interpreter. "I can't even imagine the outcome of the fight. It's better just to think about it. But I don't know how I would beat myself."

-- Ryan Mink