The UFC's answer to Mayweather vs. Pacquiao has resurfaced, as talk about a "superfight" between UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva is on the rise again.
MMAFighting.com reporter Ariel Helwani asked UFC president Dana White about the Silva-GSP fight on Saturday night following UFC 150 in Denver, notably in the context of a fight between Silva and undefeated contender Chris Weidman. The UFC boss was non-committal, pointing out that St-Pierre will need to get past Carlos Condit at UFC 154 in November before any talk about a fight with Silva can happen, and even then, nothing is a certainty. Silva, for what it's worth, won't be fighting again in 2012.
There are two major issues to consider concerning the possibility of a Silva vs. GSP fight. One is the fact that if Silva does get past Condit in Montreal in November, there will be a newly-minted No. 1 contender waiting for him in the form of either Martin Kampmann or Johny Hendricks. Those two welterweights are slated to do battle in the co-main event, and White has historically been adamant about fighters cleaning out one division before moving up. That principle might be set aside in the case of a fight on the level of St-Pierre vs. Silva, but it's still worth noting that there will be unfinished business for the UFC Welterweight Champion after UFC 154.
On the other hand, Silva isn't planning on fighting again until 2013, which could help. "The Spider" is coming off a decisive win over Chael Sonnen, and has made it quite clear that he's not excited about any of the current contenders at 185 pounds (Chris Weidman, Tim Boetsch, etc.). If Silva is taking a break, it could easily be to wait for St-Pierre to finish his business with Condit and the winner of the Kampmann-Hendricks bout, by which point there should be a more attractive crop of contenders at middleweight.
The UFC generally doesn't have the same problems as boxing when it comes to making fights, but GSP vs. Silva has been a problematic one. Given the current scene, don't be too surprised if White gets the problems solved in the next year.
