Anderson Silva sets sights on Georges St-Pierre and then possibly Jon Jones
MONTREAL – A loose and light-hearted Anderson Silva spoke briefly to reporters at the Bell Centre on Saturday before the start of UFC 154 and left open the possibility of fights with both welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
The UFC middleweight champion spoke mainly in English, a rarity for him, and joked repeatedly with reporters in a jammed room.
When he arrived and stepped behind a podium, he said, "I'm the new Dana White, Dana Black."
Silva, who has two fights remaining on his contract, said he hoped to work for the UFC for life. He said he was in Montreal to discuss a fight with St-Pierre should St-Pierre defeat Condit for the welterweight title in Saturday's main event.
"I have my plans," Silva said. "For a long time, people talked 'Anderson and Georges St-Pierre. Anderson and Georges St-Pierre.' [Recently], the people have talked, 'Anderson and Jon Jones. Anderson and Jon Jones.' My first goal is the Georges St-Pierre fight, the superfight. Then, maybe Jon Jones. I don't know."
Silva ruled out a fight with Condit should Condit beat St-Pierre. In that case, he said "maybe" top middleweight contender Chris Weidman would be his next opponent. Asked if he'd want to coach a season of 'The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil' with contender Michael Bisping as the opposing coach, Silva told a reporter to "talk to Dana."
He said if he fought St-Pierre, he thought 177 would be an appropriate weight for the fight. The welterweight limit is 170 and the middleweight limit is 185.
Asked to evaluate St-Pierre as an opponent, Silva said, "Georges has good jiu-jitsu, good grappling and good stand-up." He then grinned broadly and said, "But I have more time in the Octagon."
[Related: Georges St-Pierre has 'found the fire again' after tough injury]
He then joked more about White, the UFC president, and the occasional battles the two have had.
On the day of a news conference in Brazil to announce Silva-Chael Sonnen II, White still didn't have a deal with Silva for that fight and had to battle with him to get it done.
Silva joked about that on Saturday as he discussed his plans.
"I told you, I am the black Dana," Silva said, laughing. "I am happy. I am very happy. I like my work. I worked a long time to gather the family, the UFC family. I had my problems with Dana, but it's OK. I love Dana. Dana sometimes hates me, loves me, but it's OK."
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