Georges St-Pierre claims Dana White and the brass didn’t book an Anderson Silva super fight for several head-scratching reasons.
UFC Hall of Famers Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva seemed destined for a potential super fight during their respective title reigns while in the promotion. But for whatever reason, a St-Pierre vs. Silva fight never came to fruition, despite months of rumors inside Mixed Martial Arts.
St-Pierre retired following a win over Michael Bisping at UFC 217, and Silva parted ways with the promotion after a long losing streak that ended in 2020. The two UFC legends were briefly linked to a potential boxing match before talks quickly stalled in 2021.
When discussing the biggest UFC fights that never got made, St-Pierre vs. Silva is near or at the top of the list for many fans and pundits. According to St-Pierre, the UFC refused to meet three demands that were arguably easy to fulfill.
Georges St-Pierre blames UFC brass for shutting down Anderson Silva super fight
In a recent appearance on the MightyCast podcast, St-Pierre explained why he never fought Silva in an all-legends showdown during their UFC primes.
“What happened is that, at the time and when I was in my prime and Anderson Silva was in the prime… I can only speak from my side,” St-Pierre said of the Silva fight.
“I was only asked once by Dana and Lorenzo… and I had the request because I was like, OK, you want me to get out of my way to go up a weight class, I need to be compensated because it’s different. I’m full of challenges in my weight class, so if I’m fighting someone bigger I need to change my training, try to get bigger, maybe.”
“So my request was to fight Anderson Silva, I want to be put under contract,” St-Pierre continued. “I want to be compensated better, one. I wanted this to be done in a catchweight, because Anderson fought in PRIDE at 170, and I knew he could go down…
“So it would be at a catchweight, so after that I could [go back down]. … If I go up, I needed to go back down because I wouldn’t spend my career there. And the third one was I wanted to have drug testing implemented. And they never got back to me.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
UFC CEO Dana White had complicated relationships with St-Pierre and Silva at the height of their stardom, which could’ve impacted getting a deal done. Regardless, St-Pierre vs. Silva will remain one of the biggest ‘what if’s in UFC history.
Who wins in a prime Georges St-Pierre vs. prime Anderson Silva fight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!