It’s a superfight that’s been talked about for the better part of the last five years, but according to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, he’ll never get the chance to face middleweight king Anderson Silva—especially after UFC 162.
St-Pierre and Silva have been mentioned in the same sentence for several years as the two top pound-for-pound fighters in the world with a bout between them being rumored every time one of them picks up another victory.
Neither has flat out said yes or no to the fight, although Silva started his pursuit of St-Pierre over the last few months with seemingly very little interest by his Canadian counterpart.
Now St-Pierre believes the superfight is all but dead, but it’s only because Silva won’t be the undefeated UFC middleweight champion after July 6.
On that day, Silva faces top middleweight contender Chris Weidman at UFC 162, and St-Pierre is so confident that the New York native will capture the belt he’s already told UFC President Dana White to not even bother trying to book the potential superfight because it’s not going to happen.
“He 100-percent, absolutely, positively knows that (Chris) Weidman is going to beat Anderson Silva. No doubt in his mind,” White revealed from a conversation he had with St-Pierre this week. “The fight with (Anderson Silva) won’t happen because Weidman‘s going to win. There’s no what if for him. He absolutely, positively knows he’s going to win that fight.”
Now it has to be noted that St-Pierre is a friend and training partner of Weidman‘s, and the two fighters have worked together when the welterweight champion travels to New York to work at Renzo Gracie’s academy in Manhattan. Weidman is a regular at the gym as well, and even posted a picture on Twitter of his training session with St-Pierre a few weeks ago.
It’s unlikely that St-Pierre would go out on a limb and pick Silva despite his work with Weidman as they get ready for their bout at UFC 162. Be that as it may, St-Pierre is moving his focus towards another defense of the UFC welterweight title later this year against a very hungry and willing No. 1 contender.
“He wants to fight Johny Hendricks,” White stated about St-Pierre’s request for his next bout.
St-Pierre vs. Hendricks isn’t official just yet, but it appears right now the only decisions left to be made are where and when the fight will take place.
One rumor that White did shoot down on Saturday was St-Pierre’s potential involvement in the upcoming UFC 165 show that will land in Toronto on September 21, stating that the information was “not true.”
If St-Pierre doesn’t fight in Toronto as part of the UFC 165 card, then it looks like the popular Canadian fighter will compete outside of his home country for the first time in over three years.
White said he plans on having another conversation with St-Pierre soon to discuss the particulars surrounding his next fight, and then finalize a date and place for his showdown with Hendricks later this year.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all qutoes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.
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