The big question that has been circulating through the MMA world as of late is this: will there ever be a “superfight” between UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva?
St-Pierre has often deflected the question by stating the leap from the 170-pound division to the 185-pound division would require a complete reorientation of his career.
Following his win over Jake Shields at UFC 129, St-Pierre was once again asked if the fight with Silva was going to happen, “We’ll see,” he told UFC commentator Joe Rogan. “I just finished my fight. I haven’t considered that yet. Going up in weight class is a lot to consider. Maybe there are other ways. We’ll talk.”
While St-Pierre’s responses have seemed a bit evasive, his camp has pondered how they would prepare their fighter to make the jump to the middleweight division.
Firas Zahabi, St-Pierre’s trainer, recently spoke to ESPN regarding how the camp would accomplish the move. Surprisingly, Zahabi would not recommend adding size to St-Pierre’s frame, “If he goes up, I would recommend he stay the same size,” said Zahabi. “You don’t want Georges to go in there bulked up and unable to perform in the mechanical way that he does.”
“He’ll be very small for a middleweight,” Zahabi continued. “If I balloon him up to over 200 pounds, it won’t do any good. There’s a point where you can have too much muscle, and it’s not a good thing. I think he’s got the maximum amount you can put on his body without it starting to be detrimental.”
“I’d probably push him up to 200 pounds for that fight,” Zahabi said. “He still wouldn’t be as big as Anderson and it wouldn’t be natural, but it would be better. If you do get on Anderson Silva, having an extra pounds on you is good.”
Zahabi revealed that the target weight for a re-hydrated St-Pierre in his bout with Shields was between 192 and 193 pounds.
The fight between St-Pierre and Silva remains a “fantasy fight,” according to UFC president Dana White. Silva’s next opponent will be Yushin Okami at UFC 134 in Rio on August 27. If Silva gets past Okami and St-Pierre’s scheduled remains open, the “superfight” talk will most likely reach a fever pitch.
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