UFC boss Dana White expects Anderson Silva to fight both Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones

• White on Silva: '"I think he'll fight them both before his career is over'
• Jones is currently expected to face fellow 'The Ultimate Fighter 17' coach Chael Sonnen in April
• White looking to book GSP vs. Nick Diaz

SEATTLE – Despite Thursday's revelation that a planned Anderson Silva (33-4 MMA, 16-0 UFC) vs. Georges St-Pierre (23-2 MMA, 17-2 UFC) superfight has been put on hold, UFC President Dana White said he still expects the bout to happen someday soon.

In fact, White said he still believes Silva will face both St-Pierre and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (17-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC).

"The beauty is the greatest fighter in the world weighs 185 pounds, and he falls in between No. 2 and No. 3 best pound-for-pound in the world," White told a small group of reporters following Thursday's pre-UFC on FOX 5 press conference in Seattle. "He could fight either one of them.

"I think he'll fight them both before his career is over."

As the two most dominant UFC champions in recent years, Silva and St-Pierre have long been linked to a potential superfight. While both often seem disinterested in the matchup, White has long believed the two could one day meet. After Silva's recent destruction of light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar, White all but guaranteed the fight would happen should St-Pierre defeat Carlos Condit at November's UFC 154 event. St-Pierre did exactly that, but White today changed course and revealed that due to the welterweight champ's insistence, he was instead looking to book "Rush" against nemesis Nick Diaz, meaning a potential fight with Silva will have to wait.

Meanwhile, Jones is currently expected to face fellow The Ultimate Fighter 17 coach Chael Sonnen in April, so he's also unavailable. Of course, while fans as of late seem to be pining for Silva vs. Jones more than Silva vs. St-Pierre, both "The Spider" and "Bones" have said publicly they're not willing to fight.

Behind the scenes, however, White revealed the Brazilian champ often sings a different tune.

"Anderson Silva is a guy that likes to challenge himself, and I think he likes to f--- with you guys, to be honest with you," White said. "I'll read something, and I'll be like, 'What the f---? He said that?' I think he just plays with you guys because the conversations we have behind the scenes are completely different then what's said publicly. And when has Anderson Silva never stepped up to the plate and done what we've asked him or needed him to do?"

White cited Silva's willingness to step up on short notice against Bonnar as proof of his willingness to take on all comers.

"[Silva] came in on a month's notice," White said. "You realize – I was thinking about this yesterday – this guy is 38 years old, right? Thirty-eight years old and still performing the level that he is."

He also revealed that Bonnar, a longtime fan favorite who after the UFC 153 meeting tested positive for an anabolic steroid, walked away from the matchup in utter disbelief of Silva's handiwork.

"Bonnar went the distance with Jon Jones, and he said to me after his fight with Anderson Silva, he was in total shock – not to mention the fact then we find out that he was on steroids," White said. "So he's on steroids, he's already the bigger, stronger guy. Anderson Silva had 36 days to prepare for that fight, and he f---ing annihilated him. So then after the fight, [Bonnar] says to me, 'That guy lives in the matrix.' That's what he said. 'Nobody has ever done that to me in my life. I've never had that done to me. I felt like I've never fought a day in my life when I went in there with this guy.'

"Do you realize how f---ing good this guy is? That's how good Anderson Silva is. I feel like the media and the fans don't grasp it and don't get it as much as I do."

Silva, who recently received a Bentley as a gift from the UFC, has yet to reveal his next move. He's discussed taking most of 2013 off, but as White mentioned, Silva's claims often change in an instant. And of course, Diaz has yet to officially accept a bout with St-Pierre, so nothing is written in stone (though it would be a shocking revelation if the former Strikeforce champ opted not to take the fight).

Still, regardless of what you may hear in any interview over the next few months, White said things are different in private. And for that reason, he believes there is more than one superfight on the horizon for the world's top pound-for-pound fighter.

"He'll fight anybody," White said. "He'll fight anybody, and he knows he'll win if he does. That's how he talks behind closed doors."

John Morgan writes for MMAJunkie.com, a USA TODAY Sports Media property.