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[trustkill]

Anderson Silva says he won't fight again until the end of 2013 - MMA Fighting

When Anderson Silva knocked Stephan Bonnar into retirement in early October, it was believed that the UFC had bypassed a key hurdle on the way to a Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre super fight. The last obstacle will come on Nov. 17, when GSP faces Carlos Condit. With a St-Pierre win, there would be no major contender issues, and talk could finally turn to financial matters in putting together what would clearly be one of the biggest money fights in mixed martial arts history.

But in the final days before St-Pierre vs. Condit, expectations may have to be tempered. In a Monday interview with Tatame, Silva said that he has no plans to challenge St-Pierre after the completion of UFC 154, and furthermore said that he did not expect to fight again until the end of 2013.

The undisputed middleweight champion did confirm that he would be in Montreal to watch the longtime champ battle the interim belt-holder, but said it is "not in my character" to challenge anyone in the cage, as UFC president Dana White suggested he would do.

Moreover, he said he would take time off from the octagon to attend to some of his personal business projects, including the construction of a new gym and a movie role. With so much on his plate, he said he would likely return at "the end of next year."

A one-year layoff would be the longest break from action he's taken since his arrival in the UFC. With St-Pierre already having missed the last 19 months of action due to injuries, it's unlikely that if he won, he'd want to spend another year of his career on the sidelines while chasing a fight that may never happen.

Also noteworthy about the Silva situation is that the 37-year-old has two fights left on his current contract and could be angling for a lucrative extension, especially with a huge-money fight a possibility.

Dude's a real piece of work; the second coming of Tito Ortiz.

I think this justifies having an interim belt. Very much interested in Dana's response to this. Will there be a display of strong leadership, or will money rule the world and Anderson be granted his sabbatical?

[v3xi]

Fits perfectly with a GSP fight since George said 10+ times he would need time to put on weight if he was going to fight a bigger fighter.

[BonesKnows]

things change very quickly, everyone has a price $$$$

[trustkill]

Originally Posted by v3xi

Fits perfectly with a GSP fight since George said 10+ times he would need time to put on weight if he was going to fight a bigger fighter.

That's assuming GSP gets past Condit. I don't think Anderson's being generous to Georges here--he thinks he could beat Georges tomorrow, so why wait a year. He's pre-positioning himself not to fight any legit middleweight contenders, and of course he would change his mind if GSP accepted, which isn't likely. Dude's a real player.

[v3xi]

Originally Posted by trustkill

That's assuming GSP gets past Condit. I don't think Anderson's being generous to Georges here--he thinks he could beat Georges tomorrow, so why wait a year. He's pre-positioning himself not to fight any legit middleweight contenders, and of course he would change his mind if GSP accepted, which isn't likely. Dude's a real player.

I think the fight has already been agreed to and instead of looking classless and walking in after a GSP victory and challenging him GSP is going to challenge Anderson. It is in Montreal afterall.

If GSP loses then I don't know what will happen. Maybe it gets scrapped and GSP fights Diaz next.

[trustkill]

Originally Posted by v3xi

I think the fight has already been agreed to and instead of looking classless and walking in after a GSP victory and challenging him GSP is going to challenge Anderson. It is in Montreal afterall.

If GSP loses then I don't know what will happen. Maybe it gets scrapped and GSP fights Diaz next.

That's a possibility I guess. We'll have to wait and see how it plays out.

[noahm]

This is just dumb. What are all the MW contenders supposed to do? Wait for a year, then however long it takes to recover from the possible GSP fight?

Def need an interim belt if he isn't planning on fighting by choice alone for the next 10-12 months.

[v3xi]

Originally Posted by noahm

This is just dumb. What are all the MW contenders supposed to do? Wait for a year, then however long it takes to recover from the possible GSP fight?

Def need an interim belt if he isn't planning on fighting by choice alone for the next 10-12 months.

They are not worthy of Anderson, plus you have to kiss Anderson's feet (or talk mad shit) to get a title shot at MW.

[Cat--Smasher]

So the champ does not want to defend his title until the end of 2013... A year and a half of no title defense in the MW div? And the champ is not injured? WTF?

People talk of an intern belt but wtf is the justification of that? The champ doesn't feel like fighting? If Anderson wants to sit out for another year to fulfill other personal projects I say he should have to give up his belt.

I hope someone has told Anderson his movie with Seagal will suck balls and he should have stuck to fighting.

[GangGreenWarrior]

If this is the case, Bipsing/Belfort winner vs Wiedman/Boetsch winner for the MW title. There is no way you can have the title in limbo that long. I don't see GSP waiting a full calender year between fights now that he is finally back from injury. Assuming he wins, he'll fight again in the Feb-April timeframe against the next No. 1 contender. If GSP loses, a Diaz fight will be scheduled soon after.

Really sounds like Anderson might not renew after his two fights are left. If he's 38 for his next fight and then takes another year long layoff, he'll be 39 when he's negotiating his next deal. How late do you see Silva fighting?