BDK
01-30-2009, 07:36 AM
Credit MMAWeekly.com
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/articlefiles/8060-StPierreFitchUFC87_10075.jpg
The idea of a "super fight" has been conceptualized for years, and mixed martial arts is an industry ripe for the addition of star vs. star, the best vs. the best, with jumping weight classes becoming more of an open option. One fight that has been talked about at great length is pitting top welterweight Georges St. Pierre against 185-pound kingpin Anderson Silva.
According to a recent interview on MMAWeekly Radio, St. Pierre said he's honored to be mentioned in the same breath as Silva, but he's focused only on his upcoming fight against B.J. Penn.
"Anderson Silva is an amazing fighter and for people to compare me to him it makes me feel great," St. Pierre said. "Right now I'm focusing on B.J. Penn and like I said, I don't think about nothing else. All my focus is on B.J. Penn. Everything I do everyday is because of B.J."
While his motivation and focus on the task at hand are clear, St. Pierre doesn't close the door on the possibility of taking a fight down the road at middleweight, but would never make a permanent move to the weight class.
"I walk around, around 188. The thing is, I have a lot of friends who fight at 185. I will never fight a friend. It's not a question of money, it's a question of being honest and being faithful," St. Pierre commented. "This having been said, I wouldn't mind going up in weight class to take a challenge to fight somebody. That's something that I wouldn't mind at all to do maybe if I have the opportunity to do it in my career."
The welterweight champion currently trains with a who's who of top 185-pound contenders including Nate Marquardt, Joey Villasenor, and close friend and long time training partner David Loiseau. Through all of that, St. Pierre stands by his statement that no fight is worth a friendship.
"I will never put myself in the way of a friend," said St. Pierre. "Because my weight class is 170, that's where I belong. We'll see, it depends on the outcome of the future, we'll see what can happen."
If St. Pierre gets past Penn on Saturday night his next step would more than likely be another 170-pound title defense against top ranked contender Thiago Alves, but the door to a super fight against Anderson Silva remains cracked open.
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/articlefiles/8060-StPierreFitchUFC87_10075.jpg
The idea of a "super fight" has been conceptualized for years, and mixed martial arts is an industry ripe for the addition of star vs. star, the best vs. the best, with jumping weight classes becoming more of an open option. One fight that has been talked about at great length is pitting top welterweight Georges St. Pierre against 185-pound kingpin Anderson Silva.
According to a recent interview on MMAWeekly Radio, St. Pierre said he's honored to be mentioned in the same breath as Silva, but he's focused only on his upcoming fight against B.J. Penn.
"Anderson Silva is an amazing fighter and for people to compare me to him it makes me feel great," St. Pierre said. "Right now I'm focusing on B.J. Penn and like I said, I don't think about nothing else. All my focus is on B.J. Penn. Everything I do everyday is because of B.J."
While his motivation and focus on the task at hand are clear, St. Pierre doesn't close the door on the possibility of taking a fight down the road at middleweight, but would never make a permanent move to the weight class.
"I walk around, around 188. The thing is, I have a lot of friends who fight at 185. I will never fight a friend. It's not a question of money, it's a question of being honest and being faithful," St. Pierre commented. "This having been said, I wouldn't mind going up in weight class to take a challenge to fight somebody. That's something that I wouldn't mind at all to do maybe if I have the opportunity to do it in my career."
The welterweight champion currently trains with a who's who of top 185-pound contenders including Nate Marquardt, Joey Villasenor, and close friend and long time training partner David Loiseau. Through all of that, St. Pierre stands by his statement that no fight is worth a friendship.
"I will never put myself in the way of a friend," said St. Pierre. "Because my weight class is 170, that's where I belong. We'll see, it depends on the outcome of the future, we'll see what can happen."
If St. Pierre gets past Penn on Saturday night his next step would more than likely be another 170-pound title defense against top ranked contender Thiago Alves, but the door to a super fight against Anderson Silva remains cracked open.