Brian Stann Feels He’s Two To Three Fights From A Title Fight

UFC middleweight Brian ‘All-American’ Stann (11-3) was a guest on HeavyMMA’s Fight Day pre-show last weekend for UFC 132 to talk about his career, fighting, and the UFC middleweight title.
During the segment, Stann was asked whether he felt he was ready for a title shot in the near future. The former Marine Officer responded candidly by noting that he is “two, or maybe even three” fights away from earning a shot at UFC gold.
Well it might appear that the UFC holds him in higher regard than Stann does of himself, now that the fighter is booked into the Octagon with former No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen. The two are scheduled to meet at UFC 136 on Oct. 8 in Houston, Texas.
With Sonnen coming off a dominating performance over champ Anderson Silva last summer, only to lose in the final round by submission, it’s likely that a definitive win by either fighter could earn them the next shot at the 185 lb title.
It’s possible that Stann knew of his impending matchup with Sonnen on Saturday, but if he did during the HeavyMMA segment, his answers were very reserved for someone who could be one victory away from fighting for a UFC title

“I have a couple more fights regardless of what I think. I have no issues fighting anyone in the middleweight division right now. To turn down a title fight is just ridiculous at this level. Everybody has a shot to win, especially when the champion is a guy like Anderson Silva who likes to stand and bang. You’re always going to have a puncher’s chance. But I know I’m going to have to fight a few times before I get that shot, and I’m going to have to fight two, or maybe even three, really good guys. That’s what I’m focused on right now.”
“Fighting Anderson Silva would be a dream come true. Anybody who does not want to fight the champion is really in the wrong sport. So if I were to get the opportunity to be lucky enough to fight Anderson in the UFC, it would be a very difficult match-up. It’s a fight where I would really have to improve my footwork. I’d have to show him a couple of different looks in the stand-up game. He’s not the kind of guy that is going to come in and try to take me down. He will try and strike with me, and he has some of the fastest hands I’ve ever seen in the sport. He has the best hand/eye coordination that we’ve ever seen in mixed martial arts. I would have to use lots of head movement and I would have to fight him lefty and righty. I would have to shoot for takedowns and really mix things up so that he couldn’t get used to me an implement his game plan.”