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UFC President Dana White says that so many UFC fans are asking him about welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre fighting middleweight champion Anderson Silva that he may soon have no choice but to put the fight together.
"People ask me that all the time," White told Dan LeBatard, via Sports Radio Interviews. "This is what I believe. I believe my job is to put on fights that people want to see. I keep hearing that and enough people want to see it. I guess I'm gonna have to do it."
But White says that even though he'll give the fans that fight if they keep asking for it, he personally doesn't view it as the best fight the UFC can put together. White believes that it makes more sense for Silva to move up in weight and challenge for the light heavyweight title than to move down in weight and take on the welterweight champion, either at a catchweight or, as Silva has said he could do, at 170 pounds.
"The fight doesn't really make all that much sense to me," White said. "Because Georges St. Pierre is a true 170 pounder. Anderson Silva at 185 has moved up to 205 and done very well at that weight. I see him moving up, not moving down. ... I do like Anderson Silva at 205 pounds. That's a natural weight for him."
I agree with White: The size difference between Silva and St. Pierre is significant, and because of that -- as great as St. Pierre is -- I don't like his chances against Silva. I also think that Silva's career will be a lot more interesting if he starts taking on bigger opponents, at light heavyweight or even at heavyweight.
The fight also can't happen any time soon. St. Pierre will likely fight Josh Koscheck in December, so he won't be ready for another fight until mid-2011. By then I, for one, hope Silva has vacated the middleweight division.
But there is a certain appeal to Silva-St. Pierre, for the simple reason that White gave when asked who's better: "The only way to answer that is to have them fight."
"People ask me that all the time," White told Dan LeBatard, via Sports Radio Interviews. "This is what I believe. I believe my job is to put on fights that people want to see. I keep hearing that and enough people want to see it. I guess I'm gonna have to do it."
But White says that even though he'll give the fans that fight if they keep asking for it, he personally doesn't view it as the best fight the UFC can put together. White believes that it makes more sense for Silva to move up in weight and challenge for the light heavyweight title than to move down in weight and take on the welterweight champion, either at a catchweight or, as Silva has said he could do, at 170 pounds.
"The fight doesn't really make all that much sense to me," White said. "Because Georges St. Pierre is a true 170 pounder. Anderson Silva at 185 has moved up to 205 and done very well at that weight. I see him moving up, not moving down. ... I do like Anderson Silva at 205 pounds. That's a natural weight for him."
I agree with White: The size difference between Silva and St. Pierre is significant, and because of that -- as great as St. Pierre is -- I don't like his chances against Silva. I also think that Silva's career will be a lot more interesting if he starts taking on bigger opponents, at light heavyweight or even at heavyweight.
The fight also can't happen any time soon. St. Pierre will likely fight Josh Koscheck in December, so he won't be ready for another fight until mid-2011. By then I, for one, hope Silva has vacated the middleweight division.
But there is a certain appeal to Silva-St. Pierre, for the simple reason that White gave when asked who's better: "The only way to answer that is to have them fight."
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