On Monday, Ed Soares, manager for the fighter many consider the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time, Anderson Silva, said that the injured fighter is on track to return in early 2015, and that a fight with Nick Diaz is something that would capture his attention.

Wednesday, the sport's reclusive rebel returned the favor.

According to Diaz, a fight with the former UFC middleweight champion is just the sort of thing that could get him to end his extended break from the sport.

MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani reported on Wednesday's edition of UFC Tonight that Diaz would return and face Silva next year if the money was right.

According to Helwani, Diaz said that a bout against Silva is a fight he's wanted for a long time, and that he considered such a matchup as potentially one of the biggest fights in MMA history.

Diaz, the former Strikeforce welterweight champion, has been out of action since losing a decision to then-UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in March of last year. Since then, he's resisted efforts to force his return, reportedly turning down UFC president Dana White's overtures for matchups against Carlos Condit and Hector Lombard.

The 39-year-old Silva, the UFC middleweight champion for nearly seven years, is on the comeback trail from a gruesome leg fracture suffered in his UFC 168 loss to current champion Chris Weidman.