Now that GSP is champ again, people are already talking about a possible clash with Anderson Silva. The reality is that it is not happening anytime soon, nor should it. While it is a “dream match” now for hardcores, another year of dominating wins for both would make for a truly epic clash at the end of 2009. Right now it is probably just a mid range match to most casual fans.
Ben Miller argues here that they should do it now to keep things exciting, but I think it is such a shortsighted argument. Historically, the most surefire way to establish draws in the fight world is to have dominant and exciting champions, because it establishes name recognition and gives fans someone to cheer for every time out, and come away happy. The most recent example of this was obviously Chuck Liddell. Both GSP and Anderson Silva could become that kind of phenomenon in the near future, and there’s really no reason at all to kill off one of them at this point. They’re trying to build a series of new stars, not eliminate them.