Georges St. Pierre easily disposed of another top five contender at UFC 124, but UFC President Dana White still believes Anderson Silva is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
The ongoing opinion had nothing to do with GSP’s failure to finish Josh Koscheck in his dominant decision victory and everything to do with ongoing respect for Anderson Silva’s accomplishments.
In fact, White had nothing but praise for St. Pierre’s performance in the UFC 124 main-event.
Noting he cannot think of any many previous mixed martial arts bouts in which a fighter closed his opponent’s eye with a jab, White applauded St. Pierre for winning without relying on his dominant wrestling ability.
“People are going to criticize him for not finishing,” explained White, but, “He picked apart a guy who’s a great athlete…He pitched a shutout without wrestling.”
On criticism over St. Pierre’s supposed lack of finishing ability, White noted, “Unless you destroy people…knock them out Tyson style…you’re going to get criticized.”
St. Pierre, meanwhile, acknowledged the criticism and confirmed that he “did not reach his goal” to finish Koscheck. He was still confident that he tried his best.
As for the long-awaited “dream match” between Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre, White would only confirm that it is a possibility. Worth noting, however, is the fact that White did not officially say Georges St. Pierre’s next fight would be against Jake Shields, who had been previously named as the number one contender for the Welterweight Championship.
St. Pierre, himself, provided one reservation for that possible dream match–“If I go up in weight class, I’m going to have to put muscle on body…If I put muscle on my body and go up to 185, I’m going to have to stay at 185.”
