GSP interview: The 170 champ says he’s not afraid of Silva

Georges St. Pierre is less than seven weeks away from another huge fight where he will defend his UFC welterweight title. He'll battle Jake Shields in front of 55,000 at Toronto's Rogers Centre, yet all people can ask about is the possible superfight down the road against UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. GSP appeared on Versus during UFC on Versus 3 and said it's not a definite that he's taking the fight.

The reaction from many? St. Pierre is "afraid" to take on Silva.

We hunted down St. Pierre while he's training in London to answer the claims that he fears a Silva fight.

"I'm not afraid of nobody in the world," St. Pierre said. "I'm a martial artist. If it happens [with] the right timing and everything, I fight whoever they want. I can fight everyone in the world. I don't mind."

Thanks to Mission Skincare for helping Cagewriter track down GSP. St. Pierre,�along with David Wright, Steve Nash, Serena Williams, Amanda Beard, Alonzo Mourning and Sergio Garcia, is part of the Mission Athlete Care team. Mission is offering a Yahoo readers 30 percent off their MISSION orders. Just use the code GSP4VIP30. All the profits from online sales go to the "M Foundation" in its efforts to support young athletes.

St. Pierre was strong in his denial that he's shying away from a Silva fight.

"That's not what I said. It's a complete re-orientation of my career. People are saying crazy stuff: 'Oh, he just has to gain 30 pounds and take the fight and fight him in three months.' I can't get 30 pounds in three months. It would take a lot more than that, if I want to go up in weight class," said St. Pierre.

There's a lot that goes into the decision to jump from 170 to 185 pounds.

"Plus, Silva fights at light heavyweight as well. So he walks around at … he's probably 40 pounds heavier than I am," St. Pierre said. "So if I fight this fight, it might be at a catch weight. If it happens."

GSP's career is rolling. He's got some big-time endorsement deals. What happens if he leaves the welterweight division and becomes an ordinary fighter at 185?

"I've had a lot of success at 170. If I move to 185, I need to talk to my sponsors, my trainers. It's a complete change of life," St. Pierre said. "Do I want to take the risk, maybe yes. It's gonna be a great challenge. Maybe, no. But I have to talk with my trainers."

Sorry for the audio quality. GSP's phone connection in London wasn't great.

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