Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre, relegated to the sidelines after shredding his knee in late 2011, will finally make his return to the Octagon when he squares off against Interim division titleholder Carlos Condit at the UFC 154 pay-per-view (PPV) event this Saturday night (Nov. 17, 2012) at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
If he prevails?
It's widely-believed that "Rush" will be offered a "super fight" against UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, who will have his own front-row seat at this weekend's event, most likely to call out the Canadian kingpin following a projected victory over "The Natural Born Killer."
And that's a fight he can win, according to former 170-pound champion Matt Hughes (via BJPenn.com):
"I really believe if GSP and Silva fight, Georges will have his hand raised. GSP is not a great wrestler, but he transitions so well from striking to wrestling that he will be on Silva’s legs before Anderson even knows what’s going on. I believe Georges is that quick and I don’t think Silva will be able to do a whole lot with Georges on top of him. Georges is going to be in great shape, he always is and I don’t think Silva would be able to use his weight advantage on GSP to try and tire him out. If anyone will get tired I think it will be Silva because he’s not going to be in the positions he wants to be in. Georges will put him in some bad situations and I think GSP will do well in the fight and walk away the winner. If I was Georges I would tell the UFC if they want to make this fight between the two of them they should contest it at 185lbs. and Silva should put his title on the line. If Georges is going to fight Silva he might as well add the additional weight and try and get a belt out of the deal. That’s the way I would look at it, the price for me would be an opportunity to unify the two titles. I just wonder how long GSP would need to get his body prepared to make the move to 185 would it be a year off. It would be interesting to see how much time he would want. I wonder how hard his cut to 170 is, if he’s having a hard time then maybe it’s time to move up to 185."
Hughes knows a thing or two about tangling with St. Pierre.
The flinty farmboy handed "Rush" his first loss at UFC 50 way back in Oct. 2004; however, GSP was able to exact revenge -- twice -- by dismantling the longtime veteran at UFC 65 (technical knockout) and then again at UFC 79 (submission).
Would Silva face the same fate?
Hughes seems to think so, going so far as to suggest a title vs. title fight against "The Spider." That would mean a potential delay in the proceedings and it's always best to strike while the iron is hot, so we can probably go ahead and scrap that idea.
Unless you, the fans, think it's worth the weight wait?