Fight fans once again had their hopes and dreams of a superfight between Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva crushed, as the UFC has officially booked GSP against Nick Diaz for UFC 158.
UFC president Dana White indicated that even if St-Pierre wins on his home turf in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it is unlikely he will battle “The Spider” next. ESPN spoke to White on the matter.
“I truly believe – and [St-Pierre’s] got to get through Diaz and then possibly Hendricks – but I honestly believe that before Anderson Silva retires, he will fight Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones,” White said.
Hendricks seemed to be an easy choice to challenge GSP for the title next, after winning five straight fights and defeating perennial contenders in Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann.
However, he will instead need to win at least one more fight, as he will square off with Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger in his next outing, also set for UFC 158 in March.
Just last month, White indicated that Silva, the middleweight champion, and St-Pierre, the welterweight title holder, would square off in May if “Rush” defeated Carlos Condit at UFC 154.
The French-Canadian defeated Condit via unanimous decision, but will instead settle a grudge with the Cesar Gracie black belt, Nick Diaz, next.
Diaz is serving the tail-end of a Nevada State Athletic Commission issued suspension for marijuana metabolites, being defeated by Condit by controversial decision at UFC 143 in February.
Silva vs. Jones doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon either, though the light heavyweight kingpin indicated that he would be open to a bout with the Brazilian if challenged.
Will GSP vs. Silva ever headline a UFC pay-per-view or will the fight simply go down as one of the greatest fights that never happened?
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