Dana White emphasizes: GSP vs. Silva is "just a Dream Fight right now"
Posted on February 6, 2011, 10:35 PM by Joey Santosus“I’ve been saying this fight is all just a dream fight right now. And everybody keeps acting like he’s going to get past (Jake) Shields. I think Jake Shields loves that (expletive). Jake Shields has been a low key guy his entire career and a lot of people don’t realize what a record this kid has."
“I know how I felt, and I know how everybody in this room felt right now, and if you say otherwise you’re a liar, thought that Dan Henderson was going to kill him. Dan Henderson was going to kill him and so did Strikeforce, and he didn’t. So you can’t count Jake Shields out.”
As UFC President Dana White fielded questions regarding the possibility of the St. Pierre vs. Silva super-fight at Saturday's UFC 126 post-fight press conference, one thing became painfully clear - Jake Shields has been forgotten. With an impressive 26-4-1 record, the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black-belt holds victories over such notable opponents as Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Nick Thompson, Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler, Jason Miller, Dan Henderson, and most recently Martin Kampmann. And though many are pre-occupied with the thought of the UFC's two most dominant champions ever going head to head, in what would surely be a historical bout, "GSP" must first overcome a worthy adversary in Shields, who is no stranger to the underdog position.
When contacted by MMAWeekly.com regarding the matter, Shields replied via text message:
“Yeah, I plan to spoil that fight.”
Only time will tell as the Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre will defend his title for the 6th time when he faces Jake Shields at UFC 129 in Toronto, Canada.
Pictures: Fox Sports
Comments
Would be a great fight, but i think the Light Heavy Weight Division has alot more to offer Silva.
he will most likely end up there as there are only a couple of guys in the MW division that seem worth putting him up against.
That can change very quickly. There are always new prospects lurking in the shadows.
The problem is Silva has no desire to move there permanently and Dana wants him to stay there if he moves up.
I just wnt to see this fight just because both Silva n GSP r top 3 p4p in the world rite now and like top 5 MMA fighters of all time so just the idea of these two fighting r amazing but Shields is no joke after he dominated Hendo u can never count him out, I doubt he will beat GSP but I also thought Hendo would murder him
@ninja
I thought Hendo would kill him too, and he nearly did too. Sheilds mounted endo numerous times and didn't finish, against GSP he will have to take any opportunity that comes his way. One thing in Sheilds favour is GSP doesn't finish fights so he'll be in with a chance untill the last minute
GSP needs to move up in weight first before fighting Anderson... Anderson did, so let GSP too.
GSP vs Maia...
i agree man, it would generate unbelievable publicity but as much as i love to watch GSP, i think silva would tear him apart. hes on another level.
I don't understand why they don't do SIlva vs. Okami first. The GSP/Shields fight is still over 2 and a half months away and after that fight GSP will want to put on 10-15lbs to fight at middleweight which will probably take a few months, plus training camp. If this is the plan we may not see Silva fight until Oct/Nov. I know you have the risk of Silva losing or getting hurt but Okami deserves his title shot and even if Silva were to lose that fight you still could do GSP/Silva as a #1 contenders matchup. It is my understanding that both those guys are healthy now so have them fight in May and that can give GSP the time to get to the weight he wants and have a training camp to get accustomed to his new size
Silva is a LHW playing in MW division. It's like GPS going down to lightweight to dominate the smaller guys. Who has been taller and even had a reach remotely close to Silvas? Okami? That's about the only guy I can recall.
Silva needs to move up and test his skill against guys his size. Sure he did against Forrest and Irvin, but he must do it consistently. To be he's just a highschool kid playing in a grade-school playground pushing little kids around.
GSP*
With your logic, what about bj penn? A natural 165 vs a 195 gsp. Tell me how that was fair again. Stop making excuses for gsp. A great champion like gsp will always find a way to win. He doeant need you fanatics to make excuses for him.
GSP only weighs @ 190. Silva only weighs @ 200 when he is in shape. Neither of them are even all that big in their divisions.
I don't think Silva is a LHW playing at MW, he's really skinny for his height, look at his legs, when he comes to LHW he's fat, not big.
It's like saying Jon Jones is a HW playing at LHW, which would be wrong. He's super skinny, it's not only about the height. Why do you think his nickname is Bones ? He's as tall as Cheick Kongo but there's no way (at least for now) that he would be able to bulk up to such a big and thick body.
anderson is a MW no mater what you say you noob.
This aint even about Belfort?....
What if Shields went up to fught the Spider. He already fought at 185. Even if he doesn't win against GSP, he may be the guy to submit the Anderson.
uh no.
hahahahahhahaa LOL
dont know why they laugh. shields can fight at MW comfortably, and would probably get the fight before GSP
I agree dutch. I think Shields matches up with AS better than anyone. Silva has shown in the past that he has no desire to grapple a high level BJJ guy. He has been able to avoid it because most high level BJJ guys are not great wrestlers. Anderson has also show that he isn't that hard for a good wrestler to get to the ground but he has the BJJ to deal with them once there. Jake Shields is the rare high level BJJ guy with high level wrestling to go with it. I actually think that AS is a better fight for Jake than GSP from a stylistic perspective.
Anderson would KO Shields easily I mean common dude, Shields would have 0 chance against Anderson.
Screw GSP/Silva. Feed Silva to Jones and Jon Jones will beat his A**.
@ Cage
I totally agree - I don't think AS beast Jones. Silva would not be able to handle Jones's wrestling for one. And JJ's stand-up is as messed up, weird and dangerous as Anderson's; perhaps more so.
After this fight and the chael sonnen fight. I think it is safe to say that his weakness is wrestlers, but he obviously can submit people off his back and his stand up is just flawless compared to jones.
I got 2 questions for jones
1. can he stand up to strikers of rua's and anderson's caliber
2. what will he do when faced with a bjj black belt
His next fight will answer one of those questions. Until then, I don't think he stands a chance against silva despite the superior wrestling, reach, and most likely weight advantage. I see a front kick body ko.
John Jones hasn't faced anyone who is even close to Anderson Silva's level. You really can't make a statement like yours until he fights Rua. If he beats Jua he MIGHT have a chance against Silva.
I love Jones, but I wouldn't say that his standup is more dangerous than Silva's. He throws a lot of crazy stuff out there, just like Silva. However, whereas Jones throws out spinning moves and weird jumping attacks because they're a different and unexpected way to attack, Silva is just as accurate and deadly with them as anything else in his arsenal. Jones pushes the pace with his crazy moves, but Anderson finishes the fight with them.
I think the better question will be whether or not Jones' unorthodox style and natural advantages stand up to a fighter who is more technically sound. I guess we'll find out when he faces Rua.
Everyone wants GSP vs Anderson. If Dana himself says he doesn't, he's a freakin liar.
Sure Shields looks to be a tough test for GSP, but the fight looks like it could be a real snooze fest.
everyone thought that 125 main event was gonna be ah snooze fest. it was ah beast fight so yu never know how its gonna play out
I agree I think a lot of people, including White (certainly immediately after the fight) seem to have forgotten about Shields.
However, I can guarantee that GSP has not. This goes back to the Matt Sera lesson; don't put the cart before the horse; don't look beyond the opponent in front of you. I think one thing everyone can agree on with GSP, is that he is a very smart fighter and not one that has to "re-learn" lessons. Sera taught GSP a very valuable lesson in that loss and trust me, it's as fresh in his mind today as it was the morning after it happened; head down, one foot in front of the other; focus.
Everyone else might have forgotten about Jake Shields, but his opponent has not. You may take that to any bank in Toronto, immediately after the fight.
Doh!
Serra = 2 R's
Just in case the Department of Homeland Spelling is still monitoring me.
If you think you saw Shields in the Kampmann fight you are mistaken. You saw a guy who had to cut 20 lbs in one day.
On a side note. I just have this feeling GSP doesn't want to fight silva. He would only do it because of the pressure of everyone wanting it. He only fights at welterweight for a reason. Size matters!
After okami, there is no one else for silva unless ufc signs other fighters from different orgs. AS will have completely swept the division, but rematches doesn't hurt anyone. Starting to wish anderson silva didn't have any friends in lhw division =(
If Shields moved back to MW I think he would do better against Anderson than he will against GSP due to their styles.
if anderson knocked out belfort wouldnt you think he would knock out shields?!
To say Anderson is too big for MW is crazy. There are some ohter big boys in there who cut from larger weights than Anderson. BUT at the same time, him going to LHW makes way more sense than GSP going to MW. Just imagine both guys in the ring against medium-large sized guys in the weight class they jump up to. I have a much easier time envisioning Silva in LHW, and I think he should do it if he really wants a challenge. I mean, he was talking about going to HW before, and now suddenly he wants to stay at MW. I wonder what changed his mind?
I say give Anderson Rashad at LHW, and if he wins, give him the winner of Shogun-Jones. He doesn't have to stay at LHW, but I rather him go there right now than put it off until he gets older and older. Even if he loses, he could still come back to MW and fight Sonnen again, Belfort again and even Okami, OR if fans still want it give him GSP (who could still be at WW, or have started to make his way up)
i think gsp will win but wud love to see jake beat him.. either way sliva wil destroy gsp via ko
Let Jones fight shofun first....man some of you people just talk out of your ass....