Anderson Silva would like to face former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, should he return to the Octagon.
Anderson Silva might be scheduled to face Uriah Hall at UFC 198 in May, but the Brazilian superstar is already flirting with a couple of fights with a considerably higher profile. After revealing that he would like to face featherweight champion Conor McGregor two days ago, the “Spider” now explained that he would also like to fight longtime welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, should he ever return to competition.
“It could happen,” Silva said through an interpreter at a UFC 198 press conference on Wednesday in Brazil. “It would be an honor to fight him. It could happen.”
Silva and St-Pierre have been the biggest superstars in the UFC during their championship reigns. A superfight between the then-middleweight and welterweight kingpins has been in talks for years, but never came to fruition. St-Pierre vacated his belt in 2013 and and took a break from MMA since. However, heavy rumors of a GSP comeback keep swirling around lately.
Meanwhile Silva’s career seems to be on somewhat of a downward spiral since his shocking KO loss to Chris Weidman in 2013. He hasn’t officially won a fight since and seems to be nearing the end of his professional career at 41 years of age. Still, money is not the driving force behind his newly-found interest in superfights, Silva affirmed.
“I’ve never thought thinking of money,” Silva said. “I really want to test myself against him, he’s a great athlete, had great skills, even though my focus is on my next opponent, but I’d like to test myself against him. I’ve never fought in the weight classes below, only in my younger days in Shooto. For me to test myself, it’s a great fight.”
UFC 198 takes place May 14 in the Arena da Baixada, a huge soccer stadium located in Curitiba, Brazil. The event will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic.
Transcription via MMA Fighting