GSP was never offered Anderson Silva until after he walked away

[MikeMcMann]

You are clearly reading things out of context. I am not complaining that they never fought. Perhaps you should read what I replied to.

GSP is doing some revisionist history these days. Simply stating "I was never offered Anderson Silva", while technically true, is an outrageous thing to say. As a matter of fact, I was never offered Anderson Silva either.

GSP never actively campaigned for Anderson Silva, and he was asked many, many times. BJ Penn ACTIVELY campaigned for GSP. Conor Macgregor ACTIVELY campaigned for RDA, and then Alvarez. See the difference?

I have no problem with the two never fighting - weight classes exist for a reason. But GSP might as well say he was never offered Jon Jones, or even Muhammed Ali for that matter. GSP has become a joke. I have no problem with him wanting no part of Anderson Silva. To even hint otherwise now is just incredible.

Actually it is your post that is the joke.

it is the fight promotions JOB to offer fights to the fighters if they want to see it happen.

we know the UFC was interested in various super fights at the time but the one thing the UFC was NEVER willing to do was offer Super Fight money to make them happen. They wanted the fighters to fight under their usual contract rates despite the much higher risk typically with a super fight. So why would any active champ do that unless they saw it as a way to greatly increase their pay over the long term or they were naturally moving up anyway?

So ya, GSP does not need to campaign for Anderson as Anderson did not need to campaign for Jones. It is perfectly fair for him to point out that the UFC never put pen to paper with a real worth while money offer that would have made him considering signing for a fight with Anderson.

Instead what Dana would always do is try to embarrass Aldo, GSP or Anderson into taking super fights for the normal money by suggesting they were scared to fight the opponent in the hopes they would take it just to shut him up. But the fighters are ALL smart business people at this point. Dana, you want a Super Fight, then put up Super Fight money and put the offer in front of me so I can consider and sign it back.

 

[MikeMcMann]

Why would they offer him a fight where he said he'd need over a year to get ready for it even when Anderson said it could be a catchweight fight.

If...

and operative word there is 'IF"...


If GSP was ever to take a fight with Anderson it was going to be part of a bigger plan. No fighter prior to GSP had shown the dedication to a career path and plan and therefore no one should be surprised that he had one IF he was to fight Anderson.

While there was no guarantee GSP would ever move to MW at the end of his career run he made it clear he was thinking about it. And that plan ALWAYS involved him bulking up PROPERLY for MW, (not yoyo'ing up) and fighting Anderson at MW at the start (or end) of what would be a MW run to end his career. He never had any plan to go back to WW once he tested himself at MW.

IT is a fine plan and I don't see how any one can blame him for it even if you are frustrated it was not to the timing that matched up with Anderson's career plan, which he also had one.

And lets not forget how inconsistent Anderson was on a fight with GSP. At most points he had no interest. Then he had interest but at CW. Then he changed and said he had no interest again if GSP wanted to fight him he needed to make weight at MW and contend. Then again it seemed after that he would do CW.

Anderson certainly was not the type of fighter GSP or anyone should make plans versus other than to make weight at MW and contend because that is the only way Anderson could not change the parameters of the fight.

 

[leolozon]

You are clearly reading things out of context. I am not complaining that they never fought. Perhaps you should read what I replied to.

GSP is doing some revisionist history these days. Simply stating "I was never offered Anderson Silva", while technically true, is an outrageous thing to say. As a matter of fact, I was never offered Anderson Silva either.

GSP never actively campaigned for Anderson Silva, and he was asked many, many times. BJ Penn ACTIVELY campaigned for GSP. Conor Macgregor ACTIVELY campaigned for RDA, and then Alvarez. See the difference?

I have no problem with the two never fighting - weight classes exist for a reason. But GSP might as well say he was never offered Jon Jones, or even Muhammed Ali for that matter. GSP has become a joke. I have no problem with him wanting no part of Anderson Silva. To even hint otherwise now is just incredible.

I wasn't reading out of context. My first sentence was replying to you and the next paragraph is a general statement on the matter. It's a common thing to do. You use a post as an introduction and then you go to your own thoughts on the matter.

I thought it was problematic to make it sound as if GSP ever said "I wanted Silva." He never said that. He didn't hint that. You decided to put words in his mouth and then complain about the words you put in his mouth... How does that make sense?

It's sad that we live in a world where facts can be considered as "outrageous". Really stating a fact is "outrageous"?

Yes, GSP never actively campaigned to fight Silva. That's also a fact. Just like most champs never campaigned to fight the champ in a higher weight class, including Silva. So what? It's funny that I never see the same thread about Silva when he was in a FAR better position to fight the champ at LHW.

As for your 2 examples, I don't think they help your point.

Penn was completely destroyed when he fought "champ GSP". It was a dumb decision. So you want champs to do the same thing as Penn, when what Penn did wasn't even good for his own career?

McGregor is another matter as he never defended his belt. If every champ started to do what McGregor did, we wouldn't have a sport. It was actually smart as he made so much money in a short period of time and put himself in a position where failing didn't matter (he lost 2 of his last 4 fights, but no one cares).

I don't mind that McGregor did it, it was smart for his own brand. But if every champ jumped straight to the higher weight class and then went to boxing, where would MMA be? No fans in their right mind should want other champs to follow his example.

 

[mma_genius]

I wasn't reading out of context. My first sentence was replying to you and the next paragraph is a general statement on the matter. It's a common thing to do. You use a post as an introduction and then you go to your own thoughts on the matter.

I thought it was problematic to make it sound as if GSP ever said "I wanted Silva." He never said that. He didn't hint that. You decided to put words in his mouth and then complain about the words you put in his mouth... How does that make sense?

It's sad that we live in a world where facts can be considered as "outrageous". Really stating a fact is "outrageous"?

Yes, GSP never actively campaigned to fight Silva. That's also a fact. Just like most champs never campaigned to fight the champ in a higher weight class, including Silva. So what? It's funny that I never see the same thread about Silva when he was in a FAR better position to fight the champ at LHW.

As for your 2 examples, I don't think they help your point.

Penn was completely destroyed when he fought "champ GSP". It was a dumb decision. So you want champs to do the same thing as Penn, when what Penn did wasn't even good for his own career?

McGregor is another matter as he never defended his belt. If every champ started to do what McGregor did, we wouldn't have a sport. It was actually smart as he made so much money in a short period of time and put himself in a position where failing didn't matter (he lost 2 of his last 4 fights, but no one cares).

I don't mind that McGregor did it, it was smart for his own brand. But if every champ jumped straight to the higher weight class and then went to boxing, where would MMA be? No fans in their right mind should want other champs to follow his example.

You are all over the place. GSP is saying he was never "offered" Silva. That is implying that he actually wanted Silva, which is not true at all. Why would he be offered Anderson Silva, if he had never made it known that he wanted Anderson Silva? Does the UFC have time to put together a contract for every single possible fight on their roster and pass them all out? Of course not. In the case of a "superfight" it is beyond obvious that the lower weight champion would have to be campaigning for the fight. I don't even believe the UFC wants their champions fighting each other - one of them would have to lose.

Whether or not BJ got crushed and Conor went to boxing is not the point. So what - it is irrelevant. It is two solid examples of lower weight champions actively and publicly campaigning and asking for title shots against the bigger champion - something GSP 100 percent did not ever do.

What is obvious that GSP claiming he was never offered Silva is disingenuous. Why would be be offered a fight against a higher weight class champion when he never asked for or campaigned for that fight?

 

[burningspear]

He made it pretty clear he wasn't interested in that fight, to offer it would have been an exercise in futility.

 

[ImLovinIt]

I thought this was an interesting bit from the press conference. GSP said he was only ever offered Anderson once, after the Hendricks fight when he had walked away from the sport and wasn't fighting.

People always asked why GSP didn't fight Anderson, and if this is true it's because he was never offered the fight.

Big gsp fan here but this is as true as whatever trump spews out.

 

[GSP1978]

Yeah, but I don't hear Anderson Silva out there saying "I wanted Jon Jones, I was never offered Jon Jones".

Right, and GSP never said that either.

GSP never wanted Anderson Silva and he never said he wanted Anderson Silva.

Your argument is foolish. This is why we have weight classes. GSP was the best at welter weight and didn't want to face Anderson Silva because he was much bigger and it was a fight he couldn't win. Now Bisping is the champion and GSP has been away for four years, not terrible excited to fight for a belt he defended 9 times, and he thinks he can beat Bisping. This reminds me of Couture seeing Tim Sylvia and moving up to heavyweight after losing to Liddell. If the opportunity is there, why not take it?

 

[mma_genius]

Right, and GSP never said that either.

GSP never wanted Anderson Silva and he never said he wanted Anderson Silva.

Your argument is foolish. This is why we have weight classes. GSP was the best at welter weight and didn't want to face Anderson Silva because he was much bigger and it was a fight he couldn't win. Now Bisping is the champion and GSP has been away for four years, not terrible excited to fight for a belt he defended 9 times, and he thinks he can beat Bisping. This reminds me of Couture seeing Tim Sylvia and moving up to heavyweight after losing to Liddell. If the opportunity is there, why not take it?

You retards don't seem to read a damn thing that is written. Try reading the post I was replying to. In the post I was replying to, the author was saying that it Anderson never challenged Jon Jones, so give GSP a break for not challenging Anderson Silva.

It is exactly my point that GSP NEVER said he wanted Anderson Silva, so now GSP implying that he did by saying "I was never offered Anderson Silva" is a load of bullshit. The truth is he never wanted Anderson Silva, and I have no problem with that, my problem is what he is saying now, trying to imply that he did want Anderson Silva.

 

[GSP1978]

You retards don't seem to read a damn thing that is written. Try reading the post I was replying to. In the post I was replying to, the author was saying that it Anderson never challenged Jon Jones, so give GSP a break for not challenging Anderson Silva.

It is exactly my point that GSP NEVER said he wanted Anderson Silva, so now GSP implying that he did by saying "I was never offered Anderson Silva" is a load of bullshit. The truth is he never wanted Anderson Silva, and I have no problem with that, my problem is what he is saying now, trying to imply that he did want Anderson Silva.

He never implied that he wanted Silva. How do you get that from his comments?

GSP is being criticized for something he shouldn't be. Back in the day he made it clear Anderson Silva was too big. I've never seen a single quote from GSP where he suggests in any way that he wanted Anderson Silva.

BTW - chill out. Go to a Chinese massage parlor or something. No reason to get all work up and call people retards.

 

[AnotherOldGuy]

GSP was as interested in going up in weight to fight Anderson as Anderson was in going up in weight to fight Jones.

Before I thought at least GSP was honest enough to admit it (he kept saying he was too small), while Anderson hid behind supposedly being friends with Jones. But now GSP is being as dishonest about fighting Anderson as Anderson was about fighting Jones.

For that matter, Jones wasn't interested in fighting Cain either.

I don't see why anyone is surprised by this - the fighters train with heavier guys all the time. GSP knew he was too small for Anderson, Anderson knew he was too small for Jones, Jones knew he was too small for Cain. Its only the fans, who've seen too many kung-fu movies where the 125 pound guy beats up ten 250 pounds guys, who think size isn't an issue. Fighters laugh at fans who think its not a disadvantage to fight a bigger guy.

 

[AnotherOldGuy]

This is a blatant lie to anyone who was paying attention to mma at the time. Lol every week there was another excuse from GSP why he didn't want the Silva fight.

Yup. And the same for Anderson for why he didn't want to fight Jones, and for Jones on why he didn't want to fight Cain. Its weird that so many fans never catch on - dominant champs hate going up in weight to fight other dominant champs. It should be obvious, but there are some people who are always surprised and offended by this.

 

[Jet40]

Gsp knew he was taking roids. Just like he knew hendricks was and just like sonnen knew jones was a coke fiend.

Fighters got the inside track on each other.

Delusional. And silva fans believe andy only roided to heal his leg right?

Agreed.
Anderson fans also avoid the fact that one of the roids he took made bones more brittle.

 

[leolozon]

Big gsp fan here but this is as true as whatever trump spews out.

Where are you getting your info from?

GSP said he was only formally offered Silva after he said he was taking a break. You are saying that his firsthand knowledge is no good and yet have nothing to back up your claim.

What is wrong with people? Instead of just posting an opinion, why not post a proof if you are 100% sure that he lies. You must have something.

 

[ThunderStruck]

Yes. Because prime Anderson always looked like he was juiced to the gills and always had a broken leg.

Yes he did. See my sig.

 

[eddymotto]

this stuff always comes back to he said, he said

everyone involved is motivated to put their own spin on it

what seemed clear to me is that none of the parties (GSP, SIlva, UFC) were really that motivated to make it happen.

Silva never seemed interested in a catchweight (despite fighitng at around WW in Pride in his mid-late 20's). The UFC never threw real money at it. GSP never seemed interested in going all the way to 185.

 

[tru3f4n]

I thought this was an interesting bit from the press conference. GSP said he was only ever offered Anderson once, after the Hendricks fight when he had walked away from the sport and wasn't fighting.

People always asked why GSP didn't fight Anderson, and if this is true it's because he was never offered the fight.

It's a nice excuse for his fanboys if he really wanted the fight it would've happened

 

[MikeMcMann]

It's a nice excuse for his fanboys if he really wanted the fight it would've happened

That is no necessarily true because for most of the time the UFC was pushing it, Anderson himself was saying he was not interested. It was ONLY when Anderson had announced he was going to look at retiring in about 2 years and had about 8 fights left and he wanted big legacy fights (as GSP was getting ready for Shields fight) that he became open to a fight with GSP. And I don't blame him as no other champ move up in their prime to fight the champs above, unless its part of a permanent move up plan, during an active defense run in their own division.

Anderson certainly would have never done what people are criticizing GSP for not doing.

 

[Quebec Nick]

Talks about going up are relevant when there's no good fights in your division. Sadly for Anderson, they were few good fights for him at certain moments of his career.

GSP had always good contenders with good winning streaks, personnality and/or special skillsets. Even after the Hendricks fight, there was Robbie Lawler, Wonderboy, Rory Mac and Tyrone lurking.

 

[tru3f4n]

That is no necessarily true because for most of the time the UFC was pushing it, Anderson himself was saying he was not interested. It was ONLY when Anderson had announced he was going to look at retiring in about 2 years and had about 8 fights left and he wanted big legacy fights (as GSP was getting ready for Shields fight) that he became open to a fight with GSP. And I don't blame him as no other champ move up in their prime to fight the champs above, unless its part of a permanent move up plan, during an active defense run in their own division.

Anderson certainly would have never done what people are criticizing GSP for not doing.

Anderson went up in weight multiple times and beat a former LHW champion and even wanted to fight Mir at HW. BJ Penn was the LW champion when he went up to fight GSP for the WW title got beat and went on to defend the LW title a couple more times. GSP vs Anderson was the biggest fight the UFC could've made at that point if those two really wanted to do it. I could see Anderson not wanting to fight below 180 and GSP said it would've taken him awhile to get to 185 so even if it was to happen they'd have to shelf both guys until it happened. I highly doubt GSP was willing to take a year or more out of his prime to pack on muscle and get to MW the right way so he would feel comfortable enough at MW. I highly doubt they would want Anderson to drop to WW or anywhere near it so GSP would have to move up and he didn't want that.

 

[Tnellie30]

He wouldn't have taken it regardless.

OK. Thanks, Nostradamus.