Anderson Silva willing to fight Lyoto Machida or Jacare Souza -- but will only kick from the waist up

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva was adamant about not fighting Brazilian broskis, like fellow 185-pound contenders Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo Souza.

Apparently, the feeling is not mutual.

That's why "The Spider" has reversed his stance on future opponents, opening the door to a possible showdown against "The Dragon," or possibly "Jacare," just as soon as he gets that bum leg all patched up and ready to go.

From his conversation with Altas Horas (via MMA Fighting):

"I always said I wouldn't fight teammates, but it's not mutual. We take that very seriously at Team Nogueira, but Lyoto is not from Team Nogueira, neither is ‘Jacare,' so it's a little vague. In every interview they gave, they said they would fight (me), so I can't be any different."

Silva is not expected to return to the Octagon until the first half of 2015 (details).

In his absence, Machida will move on to fight reigning middleweight champion Chris Weidman in the UFC 173 main event, while Souza takes care of a surgically-repaired elbow. If and when they happen to cross "The Spider's" web, Silva has already constructed a new gameplan (via Tatame):

"When in doubt, I'll just kick from the waist up."

Silva, of course, is referring to the grisly injury he suffered when Weidman checked his leg kick at the UFC 168 pay-per-view (PPV) last December. The Brazilian's leg snapped in two, which forced him to ride the pine for more than a year, not that you would know it from these videos.

Is normal.

For more on Silva's recovery and UFC return click here.