Georges St-Pierre said a showdown with fellow former longtime UFC champion Anderson Silva is still very much a possibility.

St-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC), who makes his long-awaited return to the octagon when he challenges titleholder Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title later this year, is back from a more than three-year hiatus, and he has a number of potential fight options available.

Of course “Rush” currently has his focus locked in on Bisping, but the idea of revisiting one of the most discussed “super fights” in MMA history – against Silva (34-8 MMA, 17-4 UFC) – is still something he won’t rule out for the future, as he told the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast with Jim Norton and Matt Serra.

A matchup between St-Pierre, 35, and Silva, 41, has been clamored for since the pair simultaneously reigned as dominant champions in the welterweight and middleweight divisions, respectively. St-Pierre said he was offered the fight just once, but it came during his hiatus from the sport. Now that he’s back, the French-Canadian vet is not ruling anything out.

“It is possible,” St-Pierre said. “The truth is this: The only time I’ve been offered to fight Anderson Silva, formally – like formally – like a real offer, was after my fight with Johny Hendricks (at UFC 167) when I retired. It’s not (that I turned it down) because it was Anderson Silva. I would not have fought nobody. You could have put a midget of 3-foot tall, (and) I would not have even fought him. I wouldn’t want to fight. I was tired. I wanted to take time off.”

A new four-fight UFC contract led to St-Pierre’s return to the organzation, which was announced earlier this month. If he’s able to take the 185-pound belt from Bisping and become just the fourth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes, it would open the door for a number of possible matchups, and Silva would certainly be among them.

Although a potential St-Pierre vs. Silva fight would arguably come well past its most marketable timeframe, it’s still something UFC officials could sell as a major attraction, especially with a title on the line, to mainstream sports fans.

St-Pierre said the timing to fight “The Spider” earlier in his career – when interest was at its peak – was never right. However, now that’s he’s back to active competition and in the same weight class as the Brazilian, it could very well happen.

“We talked about Anderson Silva many times with (former UFC CEO) Lorenzo (Fertitta) and (UFC President) Dana (White),” St-Pierre said. “What I wanted to do at the time – there was a big lineup of contenders in my division and what I wanted to do, if I would have fought him at the time because I would have had to defend my title too, I would have done it at a catchweight (of) 177 (pounds) with (World Anti-Doping Agency testing). Because USADA was not in place back then, and I wanted to do the WADA testing for performance-enhancing drugs.

“I think the UFC didn’t really like the idea at the time. But then after I had to fight other guys, after I blew out my ACL then a lot of guys were waiting for me to come back. I didn’t have a time to stop or the opportunity to (fight Silva).”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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