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The Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre saga has taken an interesting twist in recent weeks. The mutual respect shown for one another has given way for surprising trash talk from two fighters who aren’t known for their big mouths.

Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre appeared to be as elusive as ever after UFC president Dana White promised and failed to sign the fight in recent months. Yet something strange has happened in recent weeks. GSP and Silva have fired verbal shots at each other and have turned this once professional rivalry personal.

It all started a few weeks back when GSP was asked about predicting the Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva UFC 162 collision. GSP was asked on Inside MMA in May about a potential super fight with Silva. Given GSP’s connections with Weidman it was no surprise that he publicly predicted a new middleweight champion in July, thus eliminating the mega fight.

“I always want a challenge depending on weight classes. I know you talk about Anderson Silva, but the thing is, I weigh 190-pounds. I know Silva weighs 230-pounds. He’s a pretty big guy. Listen, if the opportunity and the timing is good, everything is possible. It would be either a jump or we would meet in the middle.

But don’t forget, I don’t want to sound bad, but Anderson has a big fight with Chris Weidman. Chris Weidman, I know him and believe me he’s the top guy Anderson Silva has ever faced. For me, Chris is my friend, and I believe he’s going to win.”

I wouldn’t exactly call it a personal attack but to the middleweight king, it was an insult. Silva fired back a month later during a UFC 162 media call and practically called out GSP for not taking the fight. Silva said this in response to GSP’s prediction.

“Imagine if I were to listen to all that’s said about me,” he said. “Everyone can do and say as they please. [GSP] had his chance to step up and fight me, but chose not to. A talking parrot is better than a legless turtle.”

This is the first sign of any personal beef between Silva and GSP. Both have been very diplomatic in the past although Silva has repeatedly expressed his desires to fight St-Pierre in public going just slightly short of calling him out.

Unfortunately for as much as Dana White has been able to accomplish in recent years, signing the mega fights is not one of them. He has teased Silva vs. GSP for over three years now. White claimed back after UFC 112 that he had no interest in making the fight after Silva’s performance against Demian Maia. Whether it was truly ever on the table or not is something that is always up to conjecture.

Now that the two have laid down a few verbal bombs, the pressure will be even heavier on the UFC prez to make this thing happen in 2014.

[amazon_link id=”0062195638″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]GSP – The Way of the Fight Book[/amazon_link]

[amazon_link id=”1936608979″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Anderson Silva – MMA Instruction Manual[/amazon_link]

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