Fans know that the period between 2006 and 2013 marked the UFC’s rise to global prominence. Fueled by the success of the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter and headlined by stars such as Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, and BJ Penn, the promotion entered one of the most successful eras in its history. At the heart of that golden age, however, were two dominant champions who defined their respective divisions: Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva.
Both men captured undisputed UFC titles in late 2006, overcame setbacks early in their careers, and went on to build legendary championship reigns. Silva ruled the middleweight division for a record 2,457 days, compiling a historic 16-fight UFC win streak and 10 consecutive title defenses through his pinpoint striking and highlight-reel finishes. Alongside him, St-Pierre dominated the welterweight division during a primary reign that lasted 2,064 days.
The Canadian successfully defended his title nine consecutive times and amassed 12 title-fight victories overall, establishing himself through elite wrestling and suffocating control. Fittingly, both reigns came to an end within four months of one another in 2013. Silva’s historic run was snapped by Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in July, while St-Pierre vacated his title after a controversial split-decision victory over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November before stepping away from the sport for four years.
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Yet despite reigning simultaneously for much of that period, the two icons never shared the Octagon. With their title reigns overlapping and a lack of compelling challengers emerging at various points, a superfight seemed inevitable. Negotiations reportedly took place in 2012, but the dream matchup never materialized. For years afterward, fans continued debating how the bout might have played out, though those talks were the closest the fight ever came to becoming reality.
While St-Pierre has previously acknowledged turning down the fight, he recently suggested the story may not have been that simple. Speaking with Demetrious Johnson on his podcast, GSP revealed that the UFC did approach him about facing Silva, but discussions never progressed far. He said, “What happened is that, at the time, when I was in my prime and Anderson Silva was in the prime… I can only speak from my side. I don’t know what was happening on Anderson Silva’s side.”
St-Pierre then opened up about the possibility of moving up to 185 pounds to face Silva and the conditions he believed were necessary to make such a fight happen. He said, “I was only asked once by Dana and Lorenzo… and I had the request because I was like, Ok, you want me to get out of my way to go up a weight class, I need to be compensated because it’s different. I’m full of challenges in my weight class, so if I’m fighting someone bigger, I need to change my training, try to get bigger, maybe.”
The former two-division champion explained that he had several requirements before agreeing to the superfight. He said, “So my request was to fight Anderson Silva. I want to be put under contract. I want to be compensated better, one. I wanted this to be done in a catchweight, because Anderson fought in PRIDE at 170, and I knew he could go down — I don’t know if he could’ve gone down in that moment… it seems like he got heavier as time goes by, so I don’t know. It’s only an impression.”
GSP reveals why his superfight with Anderson Silva never happened.
GSP asked the UFC for:
• Compensation for moving up in weight
• The fight to be contested at a catchweight
• Drug testing before the fight
According to St-Pierre, the UFC never responded to those… pic.twitter.com/fjf3OBfBEE
— FREAK.MMA (@FREAKMMA1) June 2, 2026
St-Pierre went on to reveal that he envisioned the bout taking place at a catchweight so he could comfortably return to welterweight afterward. However, according to him, the UFC never followed up on any of his requests. He revealed, “So it would be at a catchweight, so after that I could [go back down]. … If I go up, I needed to go back down because I wouldn’t spend my career there. And the third one was I wanted to have drug testing implemented. And they never got back to me.”
The Canadian legend maintained that his demands were reasonable given the circumstances and suggested the promotion ultimately lacked interest in making the fight a reality. He concluded, “That was my intention: ‘If you make that happen, I’m in, no problem. If you made it 180 [pound] catchweight, I’m in. And if you compensate me, and it was reasonable… and also the drug testing. But they didn’t follow up with that. I don’t know if they asked Anderson about that, but they only asked me once.”
Although the long-discussed superfight never materialized, St-Pierre eventually made the move to middleweight for a one-off title challenge against Michael Bisping at UFC 217. He submitted the Englishman to capture the middleweight championship at Madison Square Garden in one of the defining moments of his career. Shortly afterward, St-Pierre retired due to health concerns, vacating the belt in the process. His departure frustrated Dana White, but the Canadian icon still walked away from the sport on a remarkable 13-fight winning streak and a record of 26-2 as one of the greatest champions in MMA history.
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