CHICAGO --

UFC president Dana White said Friday that Anderson Silva is on the verge of a new deal with the UFC and will fight Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones before he retires.

St-Pierre will fight Nick Diaz next -- in March at UFC 158 in Montreal.

"Georges St-Pierre wanted to fight Nick Diaz," said White, who is in Chicago for Saturday's UFC on Fox 6 at the United Center. "He's been off for a little over a year; he had that knee surgery. Let's see how this Diaz fight goes. That fight isn't dead. That fight is going to happen. Let's say Diaz beats Georges St-Pierre, Diaz has said straight up he wants to fight Anderson Silva. We'll see what happens."

White had said a fight between welterweight champion St-Pierre and middleweight king Silva would happen if St-Pierre beat Carlos Condit at UFC 154 in November, and GSP delivered a victory.

Silva defended his middleweight title in July against Chael Sonnen, and he has waited since for a challenger to emerge. Chris Weidman has tried to lure Silva into the ring, but Silva does not have his next opponent lined up.

"The great thing about it is Anderson Silva is the greatest fighter ever in mixed martial arts. He's 185 pounds, and he lands right in the middle of Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones, so he can fight both of those guys," White said.