You have to wonder how Jake Shields is taking all of this talk of Georges St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva. He has a chance to be a heckuva spoiler in April.
Silva did his part to make the future superfight by smashing Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. If GSP can take out Shields in April, it sounds like the UFC is ready put its middleweight and welterweight champs into a dream bout.
Dana White gives St. Pierre, the smaller fighter at 5-foot-11, more than a shot.
"Stylistically it's an interesting fight," White said to the Canadian Press. "Georges St. Pierre destroys wrestlers. No matter how long you've been wrestling, no matter how good of a wrestler you are, he will take you down, he'll put you on your back and he'll keep you there. He can probably do that to Anderson Silva too. Who knows?"
The UFC president said if GSP can get by Shields, both fighters indicated they're willing to take the fight. It's a big move for St. Pierre, who would likely vacate his welterweight title for a permanent switch to 185 pounds. He said last month, he'd need some time to build his body up and make the jump.
White said the fight poses a few challenges.
"The most difficult part of putting together this fight is where we’re going to hold it," White said. "Do we go back to Toronto? Do we do Dallas? What do you do?"
The UFC is in Toronto for UFC 129 on Apr. 30. The Rogers Centre, formerly known as Skydome, will be configure for 42,000. Dallas is a big step up from there. Cowboys Stadium seats around 80,000. The Jerry Dome has already hosted two Manny Pacquiao fights. Those fight cards both pulled in over 40,000. The stadium's super-sized HD scoreboard, that stretches from one 20-yard line to the other, would make viewing the fight a good experience in the cheap seats.
Silva was asked where he'd like to face GSP.
"If it were up to me, I’d like to have that fight in Brazil. But if that’s not gonna be able to happen, I'd like to have my fight here in Vegas," Silva said through his translator Ed Soares. "I consider Vegas like home away from home. This is where I won my belt and I feel very comfortable and this is where I'd like to fight."
Late this summer, the UFC is hitting Rio De Janeiro, so it's unlikely the promotion would quickly turnaround and hold another fight in Brazil. August is too soon for St. Pierre to add the necessary weight for the fight.
Las Vegas' biggest arena is the Thomas & Mack Center which can hold 18,500. The UFC holds most of its Sin City cards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena (16,500) or the Mandalay Bay Events Center (11,500).
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