The proposed superfight between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre is like a passing daydream that may never come to fruition.
With St-Pierre set to return from an extended layoff, the MMA world is once again buzzing about the French Canadian moving to middleweight to challenge Silva in a bout that would surely be the biggest in MMA history.
UFC president Dana White is already playing up the possibilities, even hinting at a potential venue.
“I think we’re pretty close,” White told Ariel Helwani on Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight. “I mean if Georges St-Pierre beats [Carlos] Condit, that could be the next fight. If that fight happens, it will probably happen at Dallas, Texas stadium.
“These guys want to fight each other now. I think that, if you’re a fighter and you’ve dominated as long as Anderson has, and been great as long as Georges has, you finally want to say, ‘I want to test this guy. I think I can beat this guy.'”
While Silva has definitely shown interest in the bout, people may be jumping to conclusions when it comes to St-Pierre. Outside of fielding questions from fans and media, St-Pierre has never expressed any real desire to move up and challenge Silva.
He typically deflects Silva questions with talk of putting on more weight and cleaning out the welterweight division. It looks more like a guy being pressured instead of one actually seeking to go up in weight.
For Silva, the fight is a no-brainer. He has completely vanquished every marquee fighter in the middleweight division, and a victory over St-Pierre would be the perfect swan song to arguably the greatest career in MMA history.
Unfortunately, things look very different from St-Pierre’s perspective.
The welterweight division remains one of the most competitive weight classes in the sport. St-Pierre has reigned over the division for nearly five years, but there is never a shortage of challengers.
Outside of a potential rematch with Jon Fitch, there are a slew of opponents waiting in the wings for a shot at St-Pierre, including Nick Diaz, Johny Hendricks, Martin Kampmann, Jake Ellenberger, Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia.
Why risk everything by moving up and challenging a significantly larger opponent?
St-Pierre’s reasoning can be compared to Silva’s refusal to jump weight and face UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. It’s a major risk in taking on a bigger and equally skilled guy.
MMA fans are infatuated with fighters changing weight classes and seeking new challenges, but this notion is weighing reward without risk. There are no consolation prizes in MMA. A loss to Silva would sting like any other loss for St-Pierre.
There’s nothing wrong with riding out an entire career in one division. At the end of the day, the decision rests squarely on St-Pierre’s shoulders.
The potential superfight seems even more unlikely given the fact that he is returning after well over a year layoff from a torn ACL.
St-Pierre will likely want to get a few fights under his belt before seriously considering moving up in weight.
At 37 years of age, the clock is ticking on Silva’s career, and it remains to be seen if he’ll even be around by the time St-Pierre accepts the superfight.
Hopefully, EA’s upcoming UFC video game is realistic. It may be the closest fans ever get to seeing Silva and St-Pierre in the Octagon at the same time.
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