Anderson Silva will reportedly face Vitor Belfort in his return fight at UFC 197 in Rio de Janeiro in March.

According to Jornal O Globo, Silva is scheduled to return to the Octagon on March 5 in a rematch with Belfort. UFC president Dana White recently admitted that they are working on a rematch, but the promotion has yet to confirm reports about the UFC 197 showdown.

Silva, the former UFC middleweight champion, has not fought since scoring a victory against Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January. It was his first fight since sustaining a gruesome leg injury during his rematch with Chris Weidman in December 2014.

Silva was impressive during his victory against Diaz, but his win was tainted with controversy after the 40-year-old MMA superstar tested positive for banned substances before and after the bout. He was later handed a one-year suspension, which will end in February.

Silva and Belfort are familiar with each other, as they have already collided inside the Octagon almost five years ago. Silva scored a first-round knockout win against Belfort at UFC 126 in February 2011.

Silva will be a fan favorite if the rematch pushes through, but middleweight contender Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza believes that "The Spider" should not take the fight against Belfort.

While Souza is convinced that Silva is still better than Belfort, he is also wary of Silva's current condition based on what he saw during their recent training drills.

Souza believes Silva should have a warm-up fight before taking on Belfort again. He pointed out that Belfort is in top form after scoring a first-round knockout win against Dan Henderson at UFC Fight Night earlier this month.

"Anderson is impressive, but, in my opinion, as a friend and seeing him as guy that is helping me now, I think he should fight again before fighting Belfort to get his rhythm back," Souza told MMA Fighting. "Belfort is in a strong rhythm now, he fought three times in a row now. Anderson spent some time off, had this issue now."

While he thinks Silva needs an easier fight before facing Belfort, he has no doubt that the former middleweight kingpin will make a lot of noise again next year.

"He has the energy of a kid," Souza said of Silva, who is helping "Jacare" in preparation for his upcoming fight against Yoel Romero at UFC 194. "I believe he can do anything he's done before losing the title or getting injured."