• UFC Live

St-Pierre 'definitely considering' Silva fight - Marquardt

ESPN staff
April 22, 2011
Georges St-Pierre told Nate Marquardt to drop to welterweight © Getty Images
Enlarge

Nate Marquardt says Georges St-Pierre is "definitely considering" a fight with Anderson Silva, and he revealed the Canadian was the brains behind his own switch to welterweight.

Marquardt will make his UFC welterweight debut against Anthony Johnson at UFC Live in June, raising question marks over what would happen if he became No. 1 contender in the 170lb division. Marquardt and champion St-Pierre are long-time team-mates, and Greg Jackson fighters rarely share the same Octagon.

The logical answer would be that St-Pierre does not see himself being in the welterweight division much longer, instead opting to move up to middleweight to fight Silva. That theory has been given weight by Marquardt, who admits it was GSP who told him to move down a weight class.

"Actually, he brought it up to me," Marquardt told ESPN. "He asked me what I was walking around at and said, 'Wow. You should drop to 170.'

"I was like, 'I don't know. You're the champion there. I want to be a champion'. He told me not to worry about it, that if that's what is best for me I have to do it. I didn't even think about it until he said it. Once I went back to my own camp, it made sense to me."

Asked about a potential fight with St-Pierre, Marquardt commented: "Honestly, I'm not thinking about it and if it's ever an issue I'll deal with it then.

"I don't know if [St. Pierre] is planning on moving up but I definitely know he's considering fighting Anderson. I think that's a great fight and I think he has the perfect style to beat a guy like Silva."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices