Former Pride superstar Wanderlei Silva is in early discussions to make his middleweight debut against decorated Judoka, Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 108 in Jan. News of the bout was first reported in a post from Luke Thomas of MMANation on Twitter.

Even though the bout is far from official and is in the early stages of discussions, the possibility of the bout has peaked fans interest. If booked, the Silva vs. Akiyama bout has the potential to be an exciting back and forth battle as both men often bring an aggressive and crowd-pleasing style.

Silva was expected to return to the Octagon against Michael Bisping at UFC 105 on Nov.15, however, the former Pride middleweight champion opted to undergo facial plastic surgery, which sidelined him the rest of the year.  Silva later commented that the facial surgery was to help him breathe easier.

Silva (32-10-1) has lost his last two bouts against the likes of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and, most recently, Rich Franklin, at UFC 99 in June. Prior to those losses, he defeated Keith Jardine at UFC 84 last May. Silva has put together a dismal 2-5 UFC record as he has suffered other Octagon losses against notables such as Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort and Chuck Liddell.

Back in March, when Akiyama first signed with the UFC, he was asked by Nikkansports who he would like to fight in the UFC. Akiyama answered, saying that he wanted to fight Wanderlei Silva.

The longtime Pride veteran has been competing professionally for nearly 13 years, scoring notable wins over the likes of Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Ricardo Arona and Quinton Jackson (x2). He has finished 26 of his 32 career wins, including 23 coming by TKO or KO.

Akiyama (13-1) is unbeaten in his last 13 bouts and he most recently defeated Alan Belcher in his UFC debut in July at UFC 100. Belcher and Akiyama earned "Fight of the Night" honors for their performance at the event. Akiyama has not been defeated since suffering his only career loss against Jerome LeBanner in March 2005.

The K-1 Hero and DREAM veteran sports a near perfect MMA record of 13-1, with all but one of his 13 career wins being finishes. He holds notable wins over the likes of Melvin Manhoef and Denis Kang.

UFC 108 is expected to take place on Jan. 2, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV, and will be headlined by a UFC middleweight title bout between longtime champ Anderson Silva and challenger Vitor Belfort.

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 108 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!