• UFC

GSP to 'reconsider' career, open to Silva showdown?

ESPN staff
July 13, 2011

Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will "reconsider" his career after his fight with Nick Diaz, with a view to fighting middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

A win against Diaz would see St-Pierre move to 23-2 in MMA and, with a lack of credible contenders for his welterweight crown, calls for a superfight against Silva would undoubtedly re-emerge. While St-Pierre admits he is still concerned by the weight difference between him and the 225-pound Silva, he is willing to consider his options.

"I don't want to have to go up in weight so much, then come back down and hurt my fighting because of it," St-Pierre said. "I'm trying to learn from other people's mistakes. Silva walks around at 225 to 230 pounds. My biggest is 185-190. So it's a situation where, 'Is it going to be fought at a catch weight?'

"After this [Diaz] fight, I need to reconsider my career, sit and talk with everyone. Right now, I'm only thinking about Nick Diaz."

Such is the threat posed by Diaz on his feet, that St-Pierre hooked up with boxing trainer Freddie Roach, coach to Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan, to hone his boxing skills. However, he is refusing to get into a war of words with Diaz ahead of their UFC 137 showdown in Las Vegas.

"He can throw punches, but he's a good mix too -- a well-rounded guy who's on top of his game right now," St-Pierre said.

"I fight with my heart, not my head. For me, it's a business. I like my opponents. I need them to make money, so someone like Nick Diaz, let him do what he's going to do. Some guys might let him get into their game. I'm not like that."

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