Anderson Silva has a challenge directly in front of him at Saturday's UFC 112, but as he's one to do, he's already looking into the future.
The UFC middleweight champion apparently has his mind on all sorts of scenarios, including a possible drop to 170 pounds to take on Georges St. Pierre, according to an interview with Yahoo's Kevin Iole.
"I'd like to test myself and I always love to take on new challenges," Silva said in the interview. "It's not that I want to go fight Georges St. Pierre for his title. There's no doubt in my mind that he's the reigning champion, the absolute champion, in that weight category. But I just want to test myself and see how I'd do at that weight."
Silva said that if he did it, he'd have to do two fights at 170; one to make sure he could make the weight, and the second a superfight with GSP.
Such a scenario seems somewhat improbable given Silva's size. Though he fought as low as 167 pounds in the early part of his career, he's no longer the wiry kid he used to be. At 6-foot-2, he's fought as a middleweight and light-heavyweight since joining the UFC in 2006, and often gets as high as 215-220 pounds in between fights.
Silva also said he'd consider going in the opposite direction and potentially fighting as a heavyweight.
Neither seems very likely, as Silva's frame seems better suited to the 185-pound and 205-pound divisions. But it seems clear that he's on the hunt for a big challenge as long as he's able to get past Demian Maia on Saturday.
The UFC middleweight champion apparently has his mind on all sorts of scenarios, including a possible drop to 170 pounds to take on Georges St. Pierre, according to an interview with Yahoo's Kevin Iole.
"I'd like to test myself and I always love to take on new challenges," Silva said in the interview. "It's not that I want to go fight Georges St. Pierre for his title. There's no doubt in my mind that he's the reigning champion, the absolute champion, in that weight category. But I just want to test myself and see how I'd do at that weight."
Silva said that if he did it, he'd have to do two fights at 170; one to make sure he could make the weight, and the second a superfight with GSP.
Such a scenario seems somewhat improbable given Silva's size. Though he fought as low as 167 pounds in the early part of his career, he's no longer the wiry kid he used to be. At 6-foot-2, he's fought as a middleweight and light-heavyweight since joining the UFC in 2006, and often gets as high as 215-220 pounds in between fights.
Silva also said he'd consider going in the opposite direction and potentially fighting as a heavyweight.
Neither seems very likely, as Silva's frame seems better suited to the 185-pound and 205-pound divisions. But it seems clear that he's on the hunt for a big challenge as long as he's able to get past Demian Maia on Saturday.