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Anderson Silva says UFC fight with Georges St-Pierre still possible

Anderson Silva hasn't fought since a decision victory over Derek Brunson in 2017.
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Anderson Silva wants to get back “as fast as possible” to the Octagon, and won’t rule out the possibility of finally facing former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

“The Spider”, free to compete again in November, spoke with MMA Fighting about the idea of facing the Canadian star in a superfight that was desired for years, when both dominated their respective divisions in the UFC, but never came to fruition.

“Anything is possible in the UFC, man,” Silva said. “It’s a very eclectic company, with a broad vision of the sport. They are going through a new moment, a moment of entertainment, so anything can happen.”

Years after the Brazilian lost the middleweight crown to Chris Weidman, St-Pierre decided to come back from retirement and face Michael Bisping for the belt at Madison Square Garden. GSP was victorious at UFC 217, becoming one of the few men to ever win titles in two different weight classes, but then vacated his belt due to health issues caused by him putting on weight to compete at 185 pounds.

“I think the decisions have to be made at the time they have to be made,” Silva said when asked about GSP moving up to middleweight when he was no longer the champion. “I think he had a good strategy, did a good fight with Bisping. They are both great fighters. If we didn’t fight that’s because it really shouldn’t have happened.”

Silva was issued a one-year suspension, retroactive to November 2017, after the USADA found that his latest drug test failure was the result of a contaminated supplement. He was facing a four-year ban since this was his second failed drug test, the first coming prior to the USADA’s relationship with the UFC in 2015.

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