Georges St-Pierre vs Anderson Silva: Who is Deadliest?

Anderson "The Spider" Silva & Georges St-Pierre need a challenge & Pro Fighting Fans compares the two against each other

After Anderson Silva’s peculiar performance against Demian Maia in his most recent title defense, Dana White made it clear that he had no interest in making the so-called super-fight between Anderson and Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre happen any time soon. In his title defense against Maia, Anderson exhibited signs of brilliance early in the fight with his trademark crisp striking and nearly bullet-time head movement, as he handled Maia with ease. However, Anderson Silva also did not act like a champion in that fight in many ways. He continually taunted Maia with hand gestures and verbal abuse throughout the course of the fight and, in the later rounds, Anderson simply failed to engage Maia and danced around the challenger for the duration of the fight. Anderson Silva is certainly one of the best fighters in the world, as he has proven throughout his UFC career and prior, but he seems almost bored with his position as champion and the challengers he has faced. For this reason, MMA fans and enthusiasts around the world have been entertaining the idea of a dream matchup between Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre. What would happen if the Welterweight Champion moved up a weight class to take on the “best pound-for-pound fighter in the world?” Would GSP end Anderson’s reign and tear away his position as a pound-for-pound great? Would Silva handle GSP with the ease he has his previous opponents? The true answer can only come if Dana White makes this fight happen, but I am glad to speculate as to the result...

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UFC Welterweight Champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre is a dominant force in the UFC. Early in his career, GSP mainly utilized his vicious striking abilities to dismantle opponents. Today, Georges has become a wrestling phenom, pairing this ability with his high-level submission skills to retain his crown and ward off all challengers to his title. GSP, like Silva, has begun making it seem as if there are no real challengers to his title. For example, many people thought that Thiago Alves was going to be a nightmare for him to handle, but Georges dominated that fight and even pulled through the final rounds with a significant groin injury. For these reasons, and many more, it may be time for the champion to venture up a weight class in order to solidify his legacy as one of the best fighters to ever compete in mixed martial arts. The alpha male of this higher weight class, middleweight, is Anderson “The Spider” Silva, and I am about to run a Deadliest Warrior style battle test in order to determine the victor of a matchup between GSP and Silva.

Every fight begins on the feet. While GSP has proven that he is world class on the feet, Anderson Silva seems to just be on another level than his peers. While Georges has accurate punching skills and vicious kicks, Anderson Silva has speed, precision, a deadly clinch game and knockout power at his disposal. Anderson knocked out Chris Leben, which is evidence enough of punching power due to Leben’s very, very solid chin, destroyed former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin on two occasions, and knocked out former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin in the first round after moving up a weight class to challenge him. On the feet, GSP can certainly hold his own against Silva for a while, but if the fight were to continue in this realm, I believe that Anderson’s speed, reach, precision and power would spell the end for the Canadian Champion. On the feet, Anderson Silva prevails.

Let us not forget, however, this is mixed martial arts. While every fight starts on the feet, there is the option for a take-down, and GSP may very well be the best take-down artist in the UFC. His mixture of strikes with his fast, powerful shot has allowed him to run through multiple opponents. If Georges were to fight with Anderson Silva, he would like utilize a defensive striking game in order to set up his take-downs. While taking down Anderson has proven to be no easy task for his recent challengers, Georges’ wrestling ability is second to none. It is my belief that Georges would be able to not only take down Anderson Silva, but he would be able to avoid the Brazilian’s submission game and utilize an offensive submission game of his own. Anderson Silva is certainly capable of submitting individuals off of his back, but Georges is well-versed in submission defense and his posture and technique may allow him to prevail in a ground war. In this realm of the fight, victory goes to GSP.

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I will now enter the results of these two aspects of a mixed martial arts fight into a computer simulator and test the battle 1,000 times in order to avoid the fight being won by a lucky punch… Does anyone have a computer like that I can borrow? … All kidding aside, I predict that Georges “Rush” St. Pierre will come out ahead in this fight and have his hand raised at the end. I believe that Georges’ proficiency on his feet will allow him to avoid the dangerous striking game of Anderson Silva and ultimately take Silva to the ground, where he will dominate. We may also factor in the added pressure that Anderson may feel coming from Dana White to engage his next challenger on the feet, which may allow for Georges to gain these take-downs with greater ease if Anderson should over-commit to his strikes.

In the end, no one can really predict what will happen in any cage fight. This is the beauty of our sport. MMA is dynamic and unpredictable, and that is why we love it. But hey, a guy can dream once in a while and take his best guess as to the results of any MMA matchup.

By Anthony DeFrancesco
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer