Dana White wants to begin negotiations soon for GSP vs. Anderson Silva fight

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

It's clear that the superfight between Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva is going to require some serious negotiations, and it's a process UFC President Dana White would like to begin fairly soon.

White spoke with Ron Kruck on AXS TV's Inside MMA on Monday, and said he plans on speaking with both Silva and St-Pierre within the next couple of weeks.

"The [welterweight] division is stacked," White said (transcribed by MMAMania.com). "Johny Hendricks looked awesome tonight, again. Everyone wants to see this 'GSP' vs. Anderson Silva fight. I'm gonna give Georges 10 days to rest, relax and regroup, and we'll get together. We're probably gonna fly out and talk to Anderson [Silva] next week, and then I'll get together with Georges in a couple weeks."

White wants to put that fight together for May of next year, and they're targeting a stadium for the fight. He's named Dallas Cowboys Stadium, the Rogers Centre in Toronto, or a stadium in Brazil as possibilities, but added that he can't rule out a slightly smaller venue by bringing it to Las Vegas.

"All three of those are options. As we sit down, and we start to negotiate, I think that Dallas [Cowboys] Stadium will make the most sense, because it's neutral. But you can't rule out Las Vegas, either. You really can't rule out Las Vegas. It's a destination where people wanna go and hang out for a weekend."

Penick's Analysis: The biggest issue of contention will still be the weight the fight takes place at, and it's going to have to be Silva's camp coming down further than they've laid out. They're the ones that want the fight really badly, so throwing out 177 lbs. and saying "it's fair because it's half way" isn't going to be enough. Again, St-Pierre hasn't said at all that he truly wants to fight Silva. That's never been his contention. So to make it happen, Silva's going to have to get down closer to 170 lbs.

[Dana White art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]

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Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_15065.shtml

Keith Hackney Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen Antoni Hardonk