Esther Lin for MMAFighting
Negotiations for a much-anticipated "super fight" between Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre are set to transpire over the next few weeks. Perhaps a stipulation that states "The Spider" drop down as close to 170-pounds as possible could convince St. Pierre to be more amenable .. at least if Firas Zahabi, "GSP's" head trainer, has any say in the matter.
Many fans want it, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White wants it and you can bet your bottom dollar middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, want's it.
But, does Georges St. Pierre and Co. want it?
Of course, I'm talking about a "super fight" between the 185-pound king, Silva, and welterweight ruler, St. Pierre.
All the pieces seem to be falling into place for the bout to determine who the best mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter is to finally take place. "Rush" did his part to keep the dream fight intact this past weekend (Nov. 17, 2012) at UFC 154 by defeating interim champion Carlos Condit in a very entertaining five round fight.
Many prominent MMA stars have made it known that a bout between the two champions isn't necessarily a fair fight because of the discrepancy in size and weight advantage Silva would have over "GSP."
And Firas Zahabi, St. Pierre's head trainer, agrees.
Zahabi recently stated on his appearance on "The MMA Hour" that it's not that he is opposed to the bout, he just wants it to be "fair." The only way he sees that happening is if the Brazilian bomber drops all the way down to 170 pounds -- or as close to it as possible:
"I wouldn't want (St. Pierre) to move up, I'd want Anderson to come down. I don't know if Anderson can make 170 or something close to that. If Georges goes up, I know he won't be able to come back down, he's told me many times if he goes up he won't go back down, and I believe him when he says that because he'd want to spend some serious time getting extra size on him. And would want (Silva) to come down as close to 170 as possible if that was the case."
With most MMA stars having the weight cutting process down to a simple science nowadays, figuring out how to make weight, while still ballooning up the next day upward of 20 pounds, Zahabi says even if Silva made it all the way down to welterweight, he would still have a size advantage over "Rush" by morning.
The process,however, would take a bigger toll on Anderson, leveling out the playing field somewhat:
"You know, the thing is, the next day he'll (Silva)balloon up over 200, and I don't think that's fair. I don't think that's a fair fight. If he can make the cut to 170, that would be great. Georges has to fight everyone at 170, and that's the case. Really I think it would be even and fair. Even if (Silva) would balloon up the next day, he would be weakened by the weight cut, there would be something there."
You can't blame a trainer for trying and look for every possible advantage for his fighter. Or in this case, equality.
In the meantime, both Silva and St. Pierre are planning to lay low, waiting to see just what White will bring to the table to make the bout happen. Not that Anderson needs any convincing, but the UFCs head honcho plans to start the negotiation process within the next two weeks with both of his stars.
What's your take Maniacs? Should Silva try to make the 170-pound weight limit to make it a "fair" fight against St. Pierre? Or should the bout take place at a catchweight as originally planned?
Or will "The Spider" have a weight advantage come fight night regardless of what he tips the scales at weigh-in?


There are 227 Comments. Load Now.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.