The Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva super fight isn’t a done deal just yet, and if GSP gets his way, it may not happen for a while.
In his first major interview since his UFC 154 win over Carlos Condit last weekend, St-Pierre told Radio-Canada’s “Tout Le Monde en Parle” (“Everyone is Talking”) on Sunday night that the time just isn’t right for him to fight Silva.
Below are his translated comments about the fight:
“This fight is the cherry on the sundae,” he said. “He wants to fight me so he can then retire. I would like to fight him too, but after I fight him and win the fight, what happens next? These days, yeah, there’s a lot of money to be made, but I don’t fight for the money. My motivation is to be the best. Like we said, to be the Wayne Gretzky of my sport. So if I fight him, what happens next? It will be over. So yes, I want the fight, but I want to take it when I decide the time is right, not when he wants the fight to happen.
“On top of that, he weighs 234 pounds; I weigh 188. So there’s a big weight difference. I’ve fought guys who were bigger — I’m not scared of him — it’s just that I will take this fight when it makes sense for me. I just came back from an injury, there’s money to be made, there are fights in my weight class, other challenges out there, and if I fight him, I will have to gain weight, while he will have to lose weight, and then afterwards, I won’t be able to come back to my weight class.
“First and foremost, I have things to do at 170 pounds. When I am ready and when I want the fight, that’s when it will happen.”
Other notes from the show:
* GSP wore sunglasses throughout the entire interview because he said he had yet to fully heal from the Condit fight.
* GSP said he had Christmas dinner last year at Sylvester Stallone’s house after his doctor wouldn’t clear him to fly home from Los Angeles following knee surgery.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger called to congratulate him after last weekend’s win.
* He thinks he could fight until he’s 45 years old, but he guarantees he will be retired by then.
* The host said GSP makes approximately $15 million a year in addition to his UFC fight purses. GSP did not disagree.
* He said he’s not quite the Gretzky of MMA but maybe the Joe Sakic.
The full French interview can be viewed below.