For years, MMA fans have dreamed of a super fight between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre.
Sadly, we couldn’t be any further away from such a bout coming to fruition.
It’s rare in combat sports to see the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world compete against one another. With Silva and St-Pierre, fans have always had that possibility.
The two UFC champions have decimated their respective divisions for years, and they are only separated by one weight class.
What’s stopping St-Pierre from moving to 185 pounds and facing Silva in a bout that would be the biggest in MMA history?
This question could just as easily be answered with another question.
What’s stopping Silva from moving to 205-pounds to face UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones?
UFC President Dana White has been adamant about the possibility of a Silva vs. St-Pierre super fight, but outside of fielding questions from fans and media, the welterweight champ hasn’t shown any real interest in moving to middleweight.
The welterweight division remains one of the most competitive weight classes in the world. Coming off a serious knee injury, St-Pierre has plenty of challenges at 170 pounds, including an undisputed UFC title bout against Carlos Condit slated for later this year.
The welterweight division continues to churn out exciting, new faces as potential contenders. Nick Diaz, Nate Marquardt, Demian Maia, Johny Hendricks, Martin Kampmann and even Rory MacDonald are all intriguing opponents St-Pierre could see somewhere down the line.
With so many opportunities at 170 pounds, why move up in weight and chance losing everything?
In MMA, people always talk about the importance of being exciting and putting on a good performance, but in reality, a fighter’s stock in the sport is determined by wins and losses.
People don’t like to see a loser, and sponsors won’t shell out the big bucks to support them.
To an inexperienced eye, it seems foolish for St-Pierre not to move up in weight. It’s only a 15-pound weight difference, right? Why wouldn’t he want to cement his legacy as the greatest of all time?
In an interview with UOL Esportes, Silva answers all of the questions surrounding St-Pierre in his own reasoning for not moving up to face Jones.
“I don’t plan on moving up in weight anymore. [Jon Jones] is in a different weight [class]. I train with bigger guys, such as Lyoto Machida and Big Nog and I know how complicated it is.”
Stylistically, St-Pierre may have the best chance out of any middleweight in defeating Silva, but he would be giving up a significant size advantage.
Fighting isn’t like other sports. Unfortunately in MMA, you’re only as good as your last fight. Fans cheer for you, and when your time is done, they move on to the next big thing.
St-Pierre has built his own brand. It’s quite possible that he may not feel comfortable chancing everything just yet.
The UFC wants it and fans want it—but what does St-Pierre want?
As of now, it doesn’t look like he wants a middleweight bout with Anderson Silva.
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