The idea of a superfight between UFC legends Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre is something MMA fans have salivated over for years.
It’s still within the realm of possibility, according to Silva.
“It could happen,” Silva told members of the media during a UFC 198 press conference in Brazil Wednesday. “It would be an honour to be able to fight him. It could happen.”
At this stage of his career, it doesn’t appear Silva is anywhere close to getting a shot at earning back his middleweight title. Instead, Silva, who turns 41 in April, is looking for fun challenges. After starting his UFC career 16-0, Silva (33-7, 1 NC) is winless in his last four fights. He dropped back-to-back bouts against Chris Weidman in 2013 and had a win over Nick Diaz overturned last year after failing a drug test. He was recently upset by Michael Bisping in a fun, five-round fight on Feb. 27 in England.
In addition to a potential tilt with GSP, Silva also expressed a desire to shed some weight and one day fight Conor McGregor.
“I would like to do a rematch with Nick Diaz and then Bisping again. And the challenge that I would like to have in my career would be cut down in weight and fight McGregor,” Silva said. “I don’t know, I would have to talk to [UFC management] about which weight we can do this fight at, but it’s a challenge I would like. He offers me a big challenge, something I’m looking for in my martial knowledge right now.”
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. These enticing theoretical matchups aren’t close to coming to fruition just yet. Silva is scheduled to fight dynamic striker Uriah Hall at UFC 198, McGregor is set for a rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 200 in July and it’s unclear if St-Pierre will ever return to the Octagon.
The former welterweight champion hasn’t fought since November 2013, but rumours have been swirling he’s considering making a comeback in 2016. One person that believes GSP will return to active competition is Renzo Gracie, someone who has helped the Canadian with his Brazilian jiu-jitsu training for years.
“He’s coming back for sure,” Gracie recently told The MMA Hour. “That boy, the best thing he does in life is fighting. Look for how long he’s been a champion. He overcame so many obstacles. Many people don’t know Georges would come from Canada, leave at 4, 4:30 in the morning, come to New York by bus, train the whole day and leave at night two, sometimes three times a week. A champion is not just born. He’s forged into it. And Georges has all the tools to become champion again, and for sure, he’s now 100 percent healthy. I saw him, he’s in unbelievable shape, and for sure he will be announcing soon to be back in the game.”