Dana White Says Anderson Silva Has to Beat Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort Before Fighting Georges St.Pierre
by Nick Thomas on Jun 26, 2010 11:28 AM EDT
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"GSP told me straight up, I'll fight him [Anderson] right now. If you guys want to make that fight, make the fight. GSP is not concerned what so ever with fighting Anderson Silva."-- Dana White (part 1) (part 2) and Georges St.Pierre (part 1) (part 2) on TSN's 'Off the Record'.
"First, Anderson Silva has a couple guys he needs to beat. He needs to beat Chael Sonnen and probably Vitor Belfort, should Vitor win his next fight"
"Here's the other problem, Georges St.Pierre is a natural 170 pounder. Anderson Silva not only cuts to 185, he's fought at 205. That's kind of why the fight doesn't make sense to me."
"But if enough people want to see it, I'll make it."
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I have never....
Been sitting there watching a fight thinking to myself “who would win Anderson or GSP”
I have never had a desire to know which fighter is better ( I already know)
I have never had a compulsion to watch two men so far out of each other’s physical comfort zone attempt to make weight for a fight
I already know how this fight would go and I feel everyone who knows anything about these fighters would call it the same.
by Jonnycaz2.0 on Jun 26, 2010 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
word.
I have never had a compulsion to watch two men so far out of each other’s physical comfort zone attempt to make weight for a fight
Get well, Coach Wooden.
Geoff Petrie, draft us an athletic big with post moves please.
Yeah...
I’d like to see the fight as a fan who thinks it’d be interesting. However, this isn’t Floyd/Manny like people suggest. These are not two guys competing at the same weight who are just not fighting…
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by Brent Brookhouse on Jun 26, 2010 12:06 PM EDT up reply actions
That's true, they haven't been avoiding one another or anything, but
With the exception of Lesnar – Fedor, another fight that many people would feel strongly and wrongly about, I can’t imagine a more exciting potential fight right now…
by BigDNotDallas on Jun 26, 2010 1:03 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
how do you feel about GSP's elite functional (MMA-centric) wrestling
as it relates to fighting Anderson Silva?
"It’s going to be like sex with a grizzly bear, you know, a lot of scratching and growling on both sides." - Don Frye
Ha!
GSP takes him down repeatedly, almost at will, and keeps him down, mixing in some GnP and submission attempts. Repeat as needed…
Sonnen will expose Anderson’s vulnerability to elite and near-elite functional wrestlers.
Sonnen lacks the ability to finish or even seriously threaten Silva, but he will show how a better functional wrestler, such as GSP could beat Anderson.
by BigDNotDallas on Jun 26, 2010 5:09 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Somewhere down the line the UFC stopped being about fighters fighting other fighters and started being about how much everyone weighs.
At what point did everyone forget that a fight is a fight? It doesn’t matter how much your opponent weighs or how much bigger he is than you. GSP repeatedly drilled that into everyones head before the Alves fight. Technique and skill beat size and strength all the time. I know Anderson has a ton of all 4 of those qualities but to say that these two should never fight because of the fact that they don’t weigh exactly the same is just cowardly. We’re not talking such a big weight difference that it would just be crazy.
It’s just sad to see so many people saying this shit about weight. If you are a good enough fighter then how much your opponent weighs doesn’t matter.
by Geno Mrosko on Jun 26, 2010 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Just to be clear
GSP has mentioned many times that skill and technique beat size and strength, but he’s said just as often that size does matter when skill sets are even.
That said I’d love to watch this fight. I think a catchweight fight would make sense, unless Silva can make 170, which he has done before. Or maybe after GSP has gone up to fight a non title fight against a solid MW.
Ain't that the truth...come on, we are not talking GSP-Lesnar here...
Think about PRIDE, and all the great, great fights where the fighters were 10-50 pounds apart…
Everything else being equal, size matters, but everything is never equal between any 2 fighters…
by BigDNotDallas on Jun 26, 2010 1:23 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Soooo...are you going to enlighten us?
I admit it, you piqued my interest – how you imagine that fight would go and why…
by BigDNotDallas on Jun 26, 2010 12:59 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I get the difficulties that their weight difference makes...
…but if they both clean out their divisions, what’s left? This would be a super-profitable match. I think a legit catch is that since Machida isn’t the champ any longer, Silva might take a run at that belt.
If you're not watching Treme, you're a bad person.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Jun 26, 2010 11:33 AM EDT reply actions
That would be the only positive from this match. Huge numbers, big paydays
by Jonnycaz2.0 on Jun 26, 2010 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions
I wonder what’s changed since he stated he was interested in doing GSP-Silva in Toronto after UFC 97:
Twitter: @Mike_Fagan_13
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
Or this video where he says he would be interested in the fight after Silva said he would cut down to 170.
Twitter: @Mike_Fagan_13
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
Anderson embarrassed Forrest at 101
If I remember correctly, that’s when Dana’s opinion of the fight changed.
I have accepted BROCKLESNARRRRRR!!!!!!! as my personal Heavyweight Champion!
Baptized in Coors Light and Jack's Links jerky!!!
Dressed in my heavenly DeathClutch robes!!!
by Worldisart on Jun 26, 2010 12:26 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Abu Dhabi happened
I don’t think Dana is interested in giving Anderson the huge payday a GSP fight would bring after that debacle.
by ufc4 on Jun 26, 2010 12:46 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I thought it was about giving the fans they want to see.
Twitter: @Mike_Fagan_13
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
Perhaps, but what about giving himself a huge payday? That’s what it’s all about. If his reluctance comes from anger at Anderson, it’s just foolishness. If he wants to punish Anderson, then book fights with people who have a decent shot. Chael is not that person. Possibly Vitor is. But GSP would get paid huge from this fight as well, and he’s earned it.
by Kwisatz Haderach on Jun 26, 2010 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions
We want to see it because despite the size difference, most people think it will be a competitive fight. And these guys are each at the top of their weight classes. It’s not often you get to see such great fighters in the ring/cage together. Strike while the iron is hot.
Hard core MMA fan since UFC 99
by ChiCubs23 on Jun 26, 2010 11:38 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
This matchup sorta splits the difference
between sport and freakshow. They are undoubtedly inappropriately matched, sizewise. But their incredible natural abilities and dedication to skill are only matched by each other (at least as reflected in recent competition.) The larger issue here is mental – neither guy is willing to risk losing and both have the fight IQ to make sure that they are never put in a position where they are in danger of losing. For each man, the result has been a certain amount of fan dissatisfaction (GSP is a boring scardeycat! Ando is a crazy scaredycat!) Faced with each other, where the stakes are higher than a mere win bonus or championship, and in fact are all but officially for the title ‘greatest fighter of all time’ they might be broken out of their recent risk averse tendencies. But who knows for sure? I sure don’t.
http://fightdrinker.blogspot.com
by some schmuck in texas on Jun 26, 2010 11:41 AM EDT reply actions
This is nowhere near freakshow.
Get that **** out of here. Lesnar vs Edgar can be labeled freakshow, not a fight between champs of two consecutive divisions who also happen to be two of the top three fighters in the sport.
Hard core MMA fan since UFC 99
bjpenn was the 170 champ when he fought machida who was later a 205 champ but is actually about the same size as Ando
it’s not the same as Jose Aldo on PCP vs. Overeem on Horse Tranqs, but it’s a much more dramatic size difference than we typically see in competitive matchups.
Anyway, that was a very minor part of what I was trying to get at in that post.
http://fightdrinker.blogspot.com
by some schmuck in texas on Jun 26, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
oops
penn was not at the time the ww champ. But still.
http://fightdrinker.blogspot.com
by some schmuck in texas on Jun 26, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I've seen the fight.
It was incredibly close. Which is why you cant just base if a fight is freakshow or not on the weight classes that guys normally fight in.
Hard core MMA fan since UFC 99
I really think Dana is scared of GSP getting Forrest Griffin’d. Griffin was (is) a huge name, and he was embarrassed by Silva at UFC 101. If GSP is the WW champ and something similar happens to him, it would look horrible for the current WW champion to have to come off a loss like that. That being said, I think GSP would win.
GSP is NOT a 'natural 170 pounder'
The guy cuts from around 195. Cutting 25 pounds isn’t natural.
Anderson walks at around 215 or so from what i’ve heard. I don’t see much of a difference especially considering Anderson doesn’t really ever use his weight in fights. GSP’s probably stronger than Anderson anyway.
by xfreekx on Jun 26, 2010 11:48 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Cutting 25 pounds isn’t natural.
25 isn’t much. Sean Kingston cuts probably 50 pounds before becoming Anthony Johnson
I'm a lover not a fighter
by spectaa on Jun 26, 2010 11:55 AM EDT up reply actions 11 recs
That was quality
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Jun 26, 2010 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions
GSP just got that extra 10 pounds after the Alves fight. So he was cutting from a little over 185. Yes, he is a natural welter weight. He has a small frame, a frame that would be too small for Middleweight if he didn’t have his amazing skills. If GSP fights at MW, it won’t be because it fits his size, it will be because he is too skilled to be fighting at WW and needs more of a challenge by fighting bigger guys. The man is a natural Welterweight.
Hard core MMA fan since UFC 99
i'm gonna read between the lines
and say that dana is saying that if gsp were natural, he’d be 170 lbs.
j/k
Rec'd
Just as big of a freak show as GSP vs BJ Penn i mean BJ is a natural 155’er and GSP walks around at close to 200 lbs
I’m not buying that bs Silva can make 178 or 175 and so could GSP
I’m not resting until I’m officially Anderson Silva status.- Jon "Bones" Jones
by AfroSamurai on Jun 26, 2010 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions
GSP vs Penn was a freak show? What about their first fight?
If Derek Jeter clubbed a baby seal on earth day while wearing a mink coat and crocodile skin boots while burning tires on an iceberg, the reaction would be "Its OK Derek, you’re a Yankee." -First mammal to wear pants
They could both make it easily, GSP enters the cage at 182 - 185 now (as do most elite WWs)
by BigDNotDallas on Jun 26, 2010 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions
GSP said that he’s now 195 in the cage.
"...ride life straight to perfect laughter,
it's the only good fight there is."
by dancingChicken on Jun 26, 2010 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Did not know that...
I had read that he walked around at 195 – 200, but I did not realize he was actually cutting 25 pounds…I assumed he still was around 185 before he went through his dehydration/rehydration cycle…
by BigDNotDallas on Jun 26, 2010 4:52 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He said that he bulked up after UFC 100, changed diet, started olympic lifting.
"...ride life straight to perfect laughter,
it's the only good fight there is."
by dancingChicken on Jun 26, 2010 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Uh, yes GSP is a natural ww. He’s been 185 at most for the vast majority of his career and there are tons of WWs out there bigger than him. 3 of his last 4 opponents in fact.
by Hardcharger on Jun 26, 2010 1:09 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Who's 4 a 5-round catchweight weight exibition match? Why Not?
I agree with xfreekx.
After struggling against the huge welterweight Thiago Alves at UFC 100, GSP committed to bulking up with an olympic-caliber power lifting program. I believe he has recently been quoted as walking around at 191 before he cuts to 170. Anderson Silva was quoted as walking around at 192 before he cut to 185 for UFC 112. GSP could only cut to 185 and fight for Silva’s 185 lbs middleweight belt with no problem, but he would no longer have the inherent size and strength advantage he now has over most 170 lbs welterweights. Also, GSP would be the only fighter in a middleweight match-up with a chance to hold both belts.
There is a easy solution to this staring Dana White, Joe Silva, and every one else in the face. Have GSP and Silva meet in the middle at 178 lbs in a catch-weight match up. No matter who loses, they’’ll both get to keep their belts and White can still market them as champions. This fight will just be about finding out who’s the best, who needs belts? GSP can still take solace that the 35-year old Silva will still have to make a big weight cut and maybe this will sap his energy enough to slow down his footwork and sprawling ability.
However, the fans are going to want a five round fight. Since a catch-weight fight is not technically a championship bout, it’s not automatically five rounds. This would be a great chance to institute a new fan friendly rule: All main events are now five round bouts. Who wouldn’t have liked to see two more rounds of Jackson vs Evans. I fail to see a down side to this new proposed rule. As a matter of fact, I fail to see a downside to a 5-round catchweight bout between the two P4P greats.
Fact: GSP cuts weight from 191 lbs and Silva cuts weight from 192 lbs. Lets end this nonsense about a weight class disadvantage. Height and reach differences come with advantages and disadvantage for both fighters. Meeting at 178 lbs is the fairest thing to do because it will take both fighters equally out of their comfort zones. Also, a catch-weight bout leaves both fighters as champion belt holders. Silva’s closer to 40 than he is to 30. The clock is ticking and true mma fans want to see this fight. Let’s hope Dana comes through.
by True MMA Fan on Jun 28, 2010 1:41 AM EDT up reply actions
Danas just milking his cash cows for everything they’re worth. Don’t say you’re in the business of givng fans the fights they wanna see when clearly you couldn’t care less about what the fans want. You’re a greedy pos dana.
by PipRocks on Jun 26, 2010 11:50 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
I don’t understand how people’s seething hate for someone they possibly will never meet can seem to have such a huge impact on their lives. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you’re in front of your bathroom mirror smearing lip stick on your face. I just feel that maybe that hate is somewhat unwarranted considering your life will not change despite what that man does or says.
Yeah, I never understood that. It’s almost like Dana knocked up his sister and dumped her. It’s just… bizarre how much animosity he has for him.
In the case of PipRocks
the dude is a troll. Just look at his history.
I have accepted BROCKLESNARRRRRR!!!!!!! as my personal Heavyweight Champion!
Baptized in Coors Light and Jack's Links jerky!!!
Dressed in my heavenly DeathClutch robes!!!
You hate the UFC and Dana so much
But you spend a lot of time talking about it. Why not just stop watching the UFC and reading Dana White’s comments? If it bugs you so much why not be an adult about t instead of crying like a child?
I have accepted BROCKLESNARRRRRR!!!!!!! as my personal Heavyweight Champion!
Baptized in Coors Light and Jack's Links jerky!!!
Dressed in my heavenly DeathClutch robes!!!
by Worldisart on Jun 26, 2010 12:31 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
so vitor will need another fight?
i thought he’d said vitor would get an immediate shot once he covered from his injury?
Oh please let this happen...
I would love to see Bisping get violently KO’d again. He has 0 chance against Vitor.
by xfreekx on Jun 26, 2010 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
The fight should happen at Middle Weight
Middle weight seems to me, to be the best weight for the fight to happen.
Cutting to welterweight will take too much from Silva to justify the fight happening. GSP is now a very big welterweight with his recent weight gains. If he is so eager to fight silva he should step up to middle weight where we could arguably see the best fight between the pair.
by bazza76 on Jun 26, 2010 11:57 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Why not, say, a 178 pound catchweight? Meets just about in the middle (having a half-pound seems lame for an official weight).
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Dana seems reluctant to use the 5 round non-title fight. Just gotta make sure he is willing to do that for a GSP and Silva fight or else its gotta be for a belt. We need to see a 5 round fight for sure.
Hard core MMA fan since UFC 99
I agree, it’s got to be a 5 round fight, and under the current rules, that means it has to be a title fight not a catch weight fight.
Well,
The UFC has the option of turning all Main and Co Main Events that are not for a title into a 5 round fight. Dana just chooses not to stating that it is a privilege fighting in a 5 round fight and it should be saved for Title Fights.
Hard core MMA fan since UFC 99
Yeah. I’d rather not risk AS cutting to 170 and winning the belt only to never fight at that weight class again. I’d rather have GSP challenge for his title at 185. Then afterwords have AS move up to 205, no matter what the outcome is.
Hard core MMA fan since UFC 99
That would work well
Then Machida can move down to his more natural weight of 185 (he is almost alone among elite fighters who don’t cut) and we can have GSP – Machida, which would be a MUCH better fight than even GSP – Anderson will be…
by BigDNotDallas on Jun 26, 2010 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions
It really could work out well...
If Machida dropped to MW, where he’s a more natural fit and could have an absolutely epic fight with GSP.
Evans would be better served moving down as well.
Anderson could then rule 205 for a year or so, until Jon Jones was ready to seize the title for good…
by BigDNotDallas on Jun 26, 2010 8:33 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I thought Dana said he had to beat Chael and Vitor before he moves up to 205.
Lemonade was a popular drink, and it still is. I get more stunts and props than Bruce Willis- Guru
PS
If anderson walks through the likes of Sonnen and Belfort, I think it will speak volumes about how a fight between GSP and Silva would go.
In Sonnen we have a great wrestler much like GSP and in Belfort we have a great striker, even better than GSP. If either Sonnen or Belfort fail to give anderson a decent test, then I can not see GSP causing too many problems.
He will be quicker than Sonnen for sure though, but not as powerful a wrestler.
Sonnen is a better freestyle wrestler, but GSP would own him in an MMA fight
Having said that, we will have a better idea how GSP would fare against Anderson after the Sonnen – Silva fight.
Sonnen will open a lot of eyes about Anderson, and he will, IMO, remove some of the aura of invulnerability that Anderson now has.
Silva’s TDD is suspect at best IMO, and I anticipate Sonnen will be able to expose this flaw and show Anderson’s vulnerability to an elite functional wrestler, of which Sonnen is not one (he is a world-class freestyle wrestler though).
However, despite repeated takedowns, I don’t see Sonnen finishing Anderon.
It may well come down to which fighter has the weaker link – Anderson’s over-rated BJJ, or Sonnen’s below average submission defense…
by BigDNotDallas on Jun 26, 2010 4:30 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I am not sure that I agree that GSP would own Sonnen, I would have thought that a wrestler like Sonnen would be the type of fighter GSP should avoid, given the size difference. either way, it would be no foregone conclusion that either fighter would win IMO.
I am not sure Sonnen will get repeated takedowns either, he may get one or two, but ultimately I think Sonnen gets tagged by silva one too many times on his feet either standing or on his way in to take Silva down.
He’s a much, much better striker than Sonnen. He’s a much better fighter. I can’t even believe there is some kind of comparison.
by Michael Rome on Jun 26, 2010 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions
If you’re supposed to be the world’s best p4p fighter, you have to beat people bigger and smaller than you are, not just the same size. When Anderson Silva fights Badr Hari, that will be the same thing as Fedor versus Schilt; if GSP fights Cheick Kongo that will be the same fight as Fedor versus Rogers. Otherwise, they’re just proving they’re the biggest fish in an artificially small pond. Let GSP fight someone bigger first, then Silva, to see if he’s up to it.
by Tim the Enchanter on Jun 26, 2010 12:47 PM EDT reply actions
makes sense to me
his first fight at mw is the champ? nah. give him someone good, though.
http://fightdrinker.blogspot.com
by some schmuck in texas on Jun 26, 2010 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
or if not at middleweight
against a historical middleweight
http://fightdrinker.blogspot.com
by some schmuck in texas on Jun 26, 2010 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Glad they're giving Vitor another fight
It reeks of being a fight with Bisping, who should be main-eventing UFNs instead of numbered cards, but at least it’ll probably be him getting KO’d for free on Spike. Good pub for Vitor, too
Inhale deep, like the words of my breath—I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death
by Anthony Pace on Jun 26, 2010 12:56 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I'm thinking...
Vitor vs. Wand 2
Both coming off injuries… Wand will be out about 6-7 months.. It’s plausible I suppose and has the back story to sell well !!!
8-29-09
Keith Jardine is now known as "The Dean of Antihistamine" because he is always sleeping early in fights..
I want to see this fight out of sheer fan curiosity
but it makes no sense for a WW like GSP to fight a guy who destroys guys at LHW. If they are going to fight, I’d like a catchweight non title bout done more for spectacle than anything else.
Randy Couture at 220 taking on a 280 pound Lesnar makes a lot less sense than this
Not afraid to nitpick
by joker24 on Jun 26, 2010 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It's just pathetic
how many people are on here calling this a potential freakshow and claiming how outrageous it would be to have these two fight because of the weight difference. And I’m really tired of hearing this ridiculously overused line about what a fighters “natural weight” is. GSP is not naturally a 170 pounder. He is naturally whatever weight he walks around at. So if he is walking around at 195 pounds then he is a natural 195 pounder. Same for Silva. If he walks at 220 then that is his natural weight.
Let’s stop acting like fighters have to weigh the same to fight each other. Just sounds really pussy to hear people say that.
"But if enough people want to see it, I'll make it."
cuz right now the response is lukewarm hahha.
Milk ’em in their own weight class first before one of them gets a loss
I think a lot of people want to see this fight...
For that matter both fighters themselves have expressed an interest in fighting each other.
Now, if neither champions belt is on the line, and as other posters have said earlier if Georges natural walk around is about 185-190, then there’s no reason why both fighters can compete at a catch weight.
I think the only one that realy doesn’t want this fight to happen is Dana. If the fans want it, and both fighters want it, the person to lose in this fight is Dana himself. Think about it, if either Georges, or Anderson who are considered both in their own rights pound for pound, the best figters in the world. And for example if let’s say Georges was to lose, all the money that the UFC has invested in him as their de facto poster boy, wouldn’t that be a loss to them if he was to lose to Anderson whose not exactly in Dana’s good book these days?
He said he's willing to cut
but his last fight at welterweight was seven years ago against Carlos Newton if memory serves.
Doubt he’d like to drop that much weight again, he might go James Irvin on us.
I apologize for my never-ending assault on the English Language. I feel like Qui the promoter from Jade Empire...
I'd rather see Anderson...
after beating Chael and Vitor have a big fight with Shogun than GSP.
Just saying.
Dude. It's Anderson Silva.
If he gives a damn he will end Sonnen’s night by either sub or KO.
-SSreporters
By Monday morning Chael Sonnen will be pissing out of his neck.
-Also SSreporters
Anderson could do a lot of damage to the UFC in a fight vs GSP
The dude is just too unstable to be given fights against such high profile guys outside his weight class.
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