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Published 17:33 IST, November 3rd 2020

Dana White reveals why a fight between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre never happened

While talking about the same at the UFC Las Vegas 12 post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that GSP "didn’t want” the Anderson Silva fight.

Reported by: Adil Khan
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Anderson Silva, who recently bid goodbye to the UFC after his loss to Uriah Hall at UFC Las Vegas 12, was once considered the greatest fighter in the promotion during his reign as the UFC middleweight champion which lasted for 2,457 days - longest title reign in UFC history. During his incredible run, The Spider was untouchable, defeating major opponents with ease. Within two years of his reign, Anderson Silva defeated nearly every major fighter in his division, sparking rumours of a possible super-fight outside his weight class.

One such super fight that was often discussed was against welterweight king Georges St-Pierre. Both the fighters were unstoppable in their respective divisions, with Georges St-Pierre delivering some dominant performances against Matt Hughes, Nick Diaz and others. Therefore, a Silva-GSP matchup was one that the fans and experts called for. Unfortunately, the fight never took place. Now that both the fighters have retired from the promotion, UFC president Dana White has finally revealed why that fight never took place.

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Also Read l McGregor, Khabib, Jones and others pay ode to Anderson Silva after his UFC swansong

Why Anderson Silva vs Georges St-Pierre was never scheduled 

While talking about the same at UFC Las Vegas 12 post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that GSP "didn’t want” the Anderson Silva fight. White said both the fighters were ready to fight at catchweight, but Georges St-Pierre was not interested in fighting The Spider in the middleweight division.

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“Silva could have gone down [to welterweight] to fight Georges St-Pierre, they could have come up with a catchweight…GSP didn’t want to move up [to middleweight] to fight Silva,” Dana White added.

Also Read l Anderson Silva last fight: Uriah Hall on the emotional moments after stopping Silva

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Anderson Silva vs Jon Jones was also discussed: Dana White

Apart from the Georges St-Pierre fight, Anderson Silva was also offered a fight opposite former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Bones was an emerging champion when Anderson Silva was dominating the sport and also had an impressive resume which The Spider liked. However, when it came to fighting Jon Jones, Anderson Silva looked away as he was not ready to gain weight and fight at light heavyweight.

“[Silva] could have moved up and did a catchweight with Jon Jones. Silva didn’t want to move up [to light heavyweight]to fight Jones…so none of those fights ever happened," White said.

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Also Read l UFC president Dana White says Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 2 is a “done deal” at lightweight

Also Read l Dana White says Khabib Nurmagomedov could return for 30-0: 'He’s champion, no vacant belt'

Image Source: Georges St-Pierre Instagram, Anderson Silva Twitter

17:33 IST, November 3rd 2020