Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre are likely tied to each other for the rest of their careers, regardless of if they ever step into the Octagon to face each other. Whenever one of them dominates yet another man to retain their title the questions about (and demand for) a superfight between the two men pick up in steam. UFC president Dana White was asked if we were any closer to the bout finally taking place following Silva's impressive showing at UFC 134: Rio:
I mean, I consider, in my own personal pound-for-pound, Anderson Silva is number one and Georges St. Pierre is number two. So it really would be a pound-for-pound dream match of number one vs. number two. And I know a lot of fans want to see it so we'll see what happens, we'll see how this thing plays out.
This is pretty much in keeping with Dana's approach to the fight up to this point. They don't want to promise a fight that they may be unable to deliver as there are many factors at play.
- Georges St. Pierre would have to be willing to take a very large leap up in weight if they fought at middleweight, which he has said he would only do as a permanent move, not a temporary one. One weight class doesn't sound like a lot, but adding nearly an additional 10% of his body weight does.
- If they decided to fight at a catchweight of somewhere around 177, I have no doubts that Silva's camp would feel a little uncomfortable. Dropping below 185 at this point in his career could have devastating long term effects on his career. We've seen plenty of combat athletes who move around too much in weight in their late thirties and never recover.
- The UFC would have to be willing to have one of their two biggest and most talented superstars take a loss. From a marketing standpoint that just may be a risk they don't want to take.
There are no doubts that it would be a huge event though, and one that almost any fan would want to see.