The Chris Weidman-Anderson Silva trilogy has a significant chance of being a real thing.

UFC president Dana White said Wednesday on UFC Tonight that if Silva defeats Nick Diaz at UFC 183 on Jan. 31 in Las Vegas that Silva will get the next middleweight title shot. White said it doesn't matter if Weidman or Vitor Belfort wins the UFC 184 championship bout; Silva will take on the winner.

That announcement comes as a surprise since there are plenty of qualified candidates for an opportunity at the belt in the middleweight division. At UFC 184, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Yoel Romero, two of the top-ranked fighters in the weight class, will meet. And a fight between Luke Rockhold and Lyoto Machida is likely also on the docket for some time in the spring. The victor in either one of those fights would have a major case for being the No. 1 contender.

But that won't be so, according to White. Silva, regarded as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, will get first dibs.

"The Spider" lost his middleweight belt to Chris Weidman via knockout in July 2013 after a record seven years and 10 title defenses. Silva then lost to Weidman again in December 2013 when he gruesomely broke his leg attempting a kick. That was the last time Silva stepped into the Octagon.

Silva, 39, has publicly endorsed Souza, his teammate, for a title shot and said he would step away from the title picture to let "Jacare" pursue it. Yet, the enigmatic "Spider" has also made comments about getting back "his title."

"Look, besides returning well in 2015, my project in the UFC is only one: I won't stop (fighting) until I get my title back," Silva said in an interview with Brazilian outlet Veja. "I want to at least try."

Weidman and Belfort meet in the main event of UFC 184 on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles. After beating Silva twice, Weidman defeated Lyoto Machida by unanimous decision at UFC 175 in July. Silva holds a first-round knockout victory over Belfort already on his résumé.

Weidman was asked in November about the potential of fighting Silva again, and he is not against it. He also doesn't seem like it would be much of a challenge.

"If that's what the people want to see, then it'll happen," Weidman said, according to MMAjunkie. "Easy payday? Yeah, pretty much. With all due respect."