Dana White: Anderson Silva vs. GSP Superfight Likely for Cowboys Stadium

[redjuh]

The long-awaited superfight between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre not only seems more likely than ever, but it also looks to be the UFC's next big stadium show. As part of a wide-ranging interview with MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani which aired Tuesday night on Fuel TV's "UFC Tonight," UFC president Dana White confirmed the bout is well on its way to being made.
"I think we're pretty close," said White. "I mean if Georges St-Pierre beats [Carlos] Condit, that could be the next fight."
If the match comes about, the most likely venue candidate is Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.
"If that fight happens, it will probably happen at Dallas, TX stadium," said White.
The stadium's regular configuration for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys is 80.000. The UFC's attendance record is 55,724 for UFC 129 on April 30, 2011 in Toronto.
If the bout goes off, it's likely to be held at a catchweight of 180 pounds. White explained the reasoning behind the move.
"At one point it sounded like Anderson wanted to go to 170 and take Georges' welterweight title," said White. "That was what he was talking at one point. Then it was 180 as a catchweight, because Georges doesn't want to go to 185, he's going to stay at '70. He said if ‘I had to make the move to go to '85, I'd have to stay at '85.' We figured that a 180-pound catchweight makes sense."
As to why the fight should come about at this stage in both fighters' careers, White figures it has something to do with legacy. Silva has the longest title reign in UFC history at nearly six years, and St-Pierre has the second longest reign at four-and-a-half years and counting.
"These guys want to fight each other now," said White. "I think that, if you're a fighter and you've dominated as long as Anderson has, and been great as long as Georges has, you finally want to say, ‘I want to test this guy, I think I can beat this guy.'"
St-Pierre returns from a long layoff to meet Condit in the main event of UFC 154 in November in Montreal.

[Sato]

Aan de ene kant een heel goed idee. Ik juich het initiatief van beide dan ook van harte toe, maar... wie verliest is wel zijn 'legacy' kwijt. Het zou jammer zijn dat de verliezer ineens de schemiel wordt.

[K-1sunstarr]

Ach ja gewoon knokken zoals de goede oude tijd.
Verliezen of niet, vechten doe je als " vechter "voor je plezier en krijgt er ook nog goed dik voor betaald.

[Ralph]

Ik hoop echt dat GSP Condit weet te verslaan... Een gevecht met Silva zou echt de bom zijn! Enige kans voor de UFC om zo'n groot stadion helemaal vol te krijgen denk ik.

[The Company]

Dit moet een UFC 100 type kaart worden.

Silva vs GSP
Overeem vs JDS
Diaz vs Kampman

[redjuh]

Dit moet een UFC 100 type kaart worden.

Silva vs GSP
Overeem vs JDS
Diaz vs Kampman

Ja zou sick zijn!
Alleen al in 2012 tot nu toe, zijn er al 76 gevechten veranderd of geschrapt door blessures... ik denk dat je zo'n card niet vaker door ziet gaan dan dat je in nederland een volledige zonsverduistering meemaakt

[Asura]

Dit moet een UFC 100 type kaart worden.

Silva vs GSP
Overeem vs JDS
Diaz vs Kampman

Ik bestel al vast de PPV onder naam van het pieterbaan centrum, uit veiligheidsredenen zit ik liever daar als deze kaart doorgaat

[Kemal]

If GSP wins, Dana White targets May for superfight with Anderson Silva

Dana White has targeted May for a potential Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva fight in an interview on ESPN Thursday morning.

White had said in previous interviews talking about GSP vs. Silva that St-Pierre would first have to beat Carlos Condit in a welterweight title unification match in Montreal in the main event of Saturday's UFC 154 show. White also has said previously that if Condit won the title, they would not be looking at doing a Condit vs. Silva superfight, but would then look to have Condit defend against other welterweight contenders.

"It'll probably be the biggest fight in UFC history," he said. "It'll definitely be the biggest gate."

When it was noted that Silva had told Brazilian publication Tatame earlier this week that he was not looking at fighting again until the end of 2013, White chalked it up to Silva being an artist and perhaps a negotiations ploy.

"He said he wouldn't fight Chael Sonnen again either, but he did," White said. "He always comes out and says this stuff. I don't know why he does it or why he says the things he says. I guarantee you, he will be there Saturday. If Georges St-Pierre wins, those two will fight and it's probably going to be in May."

White also pointed out that Jones had said he didn't want to face Sonnen and now the two are in Las Vegas as coaching rivals preparing for a championship match in April.

Once again, White talked about three potential locations, a soccer stadium in Brazil, Rogers Centre in Toronto or Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. The St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields fight on April 30, 2011, at Rogers Centre in Toronto blew away all existing UFC records by drawing 55,724 fans and $12,075,000, the biggest gate for a non-Olympic Canadian sports event in history.

Cowboys Stadium has a football capacity of 80,000, and has been talked about the most regarding a potential location for the show since UFC has never held an event there. White has been interested in running there for years, but noted it would have to be a gigantic attraction.

"You know, every time we do a card, I'd like to say we'll sell it out with the right fight," White said. "And I really believe we can with the right fight. You don't see us go to Dallas, Texas Stadium with any of our regular cards. It'll take Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson or Silva vs. Jon Jones. It will take that type of fight to fill Dallas, Texas."

The interview also saw White respond when questioned about the reports everywhere (that nobody will confirm on the record) regarding Strikeforce folding after its January show. It was brought up directly, as if the story was fact, and White didn't contradict it, or say that it was still up in the air, or the reporting of the story was premature. It was also reported that Ronda Rousey had signed with UFC, which he responded to.

"Well, for of all, the thing about Ronda Rousey, when you see her, she's this pretty girl, she's talented, but she's a fighter," he said. "But when you talk to this girl, it's like talking to any of our nastiest fighters. She's an absolute competitor. She's a bronze medalist in judo from the Olympics. She made the transition into MMA and she's just got that 'it' factor. She's incredibly talented. She's undefeated and people are interested in her."

[Kemal]

[Kemal]

Georges St-Pierre: Anderson Silva fight will happen on my terms, not his

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.

[Kemal]

[Kemal]

[Asura]

Helemaal in zijn element als fransoos

[Diz]

Zo te zien duurt het nog wel even voor we dit gevecht gaan zien...
Groot gelijk hoor, hij moet zoiets idd doen wanneer hij er zelf klaar voor is en niet onder druk van organisatie of fans...

Zal wel een leuk potje worden als het er eventueel van komt...

[my2cents]

Zo te zien duurt het nog wel even voor we dit gevecht gaan zien...
Groot gelijk hoor, hij moet zoiets idd doen wanneer hij er zelf klaar voor is en niet onder druk van organisatie of fans...

Zal wel een leuk potje worden als het er eventueel van komt...

Precies.

[smike]

Deze pot gaat er nooit van komen.
GSp wil nu nog niet en wanneer die wel wil is Silva 40...