Anderson Silva could return to the Octagon later this year or in early next year, and the former Ultimate Fighting Championship kingpin already has a list of possible opponents.

In an interview with MMA Hour, Ed Soares, Silva's manager, said that they are considering facing Michael Bisping, Nick Diaz, and Cung Le for the MMA superstar's comeback fight.

"There's Michael Bisping, there's Cung Le. Even Nick Diaz," Soares said. "Nick Diaz has said he's wanted to fight him before. Nick Diaz wanted to box Roy Jones Jr. You could argue that Nick Diaz and Anderson probably have some of the best boxing in MMA, so we'll see what happens."

UFC President Dana White is optimistic that any of those fights can happen, but he is also not closing his doors for other possible opponents, saying that a lot of things could change before Silva picks his opponent later this year.

But like Soares, White is also intrigued about the possibility of pitting Silva against Diaz.

"I think that the landscape changes so much in MMA that by the time Anderson comes back, we'll see who's where and who's doing what," White said. "Any of those fights can happen. Nick Diaz has made it very clear that he would love to fight Anderson Silva."

Diaz has not fought since absorbing a unanimous decision loss to Georges St-Pierre in March last year. There were rumors before that he could make a comeback, but the 30-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belter turned down numerous fight offers.

But according to UFC insider Ariel Halwani, Diaz is open to returning to the Octagon, but is only interested in facing Silva and St-Pierre, not any other fighter.

"I spoke to Nick Diaz, and he said, 'Of course I'm interested in this.' Remember, Nick Diaz has been talking about this fight for many, many years," Helwani said via Fighters Only Mag. "When [Diaz] retired last year he said the only two fights he would come back for were Georges St-Pierre or Anderson Silva but he said it would have to make financial sense. He thinks it could be one of the biggest fights in UFC history and a lot of people would agree with that."

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