If you thought a Georges St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva super fight was closer to coming to fruition than ever before, you'd be completely wrong.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White has teased for the past few weeks that he was waiting to speak with the reigning welterweight champion about his next move and if he would like to fight Silva if he gets past Chris Weidman this summer or defend his 170-pound title against No. 1 contender Johny Hendricks.
That conversation finally took place prior to Saturday's (May 25, 2013) UFC 160 festivities and although St. Pierre didn't outright say he was unwilling to fight Silva, he doesn't believe the match up will make sense in the future after his friend Weidman dethrones "The Spider."
"We had a good conversation," White told reporters in a media scrum following the UFC 160 post-fight press conference (watch it here). "He 100 percent, absolutely, positively knows Weidman is going to beat Anderson Silva. No doubt in his mind that the fight with [Silva] won't happen because Weidman is going to win. There's no 'what if' for him. He absolutely, positively knows [Weidman] is going to win that fight."
A victory for Weidman when he meets Silva at UFC 162 on July 6, 2013 would kill any hopes of a champion vs. champion match with St. Pierre, meaning "Rush" now must turn his attention back to his own division where there is no question about what's next for him.
"He wants to fight Johny Hendricks," White said in the scrum.
Hendricks earned his shot at the title with a sensational six-fight win-streak that has included victories over the likes of Jon Fitch, Martin Kampmann, Josh Koscheck and most recently Carlos Condit.
"Bigg Rigg" is a legitimate threat to the title and has been patiently waiting for his opportunity to challenge the champion. With St. Pierre's most recent comments, the 170-pound title match up is all but officially confirmed.
White was asked about UFC 165 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Sept. 21, 2013 as a potential date and location for St. Pierre vs. Hendricks, but would not confirm, perhaps because the promotion is looking to bring the French-Canadian back to Las Vegas for his next fight.