Anderson Silva empathizes with GSP: "We've got to respect Georges St. Pierre for everything he's done"

Quote :

Georges St-Pierre on Friday announced that he was vacating his UFC welterweight belt to take an open-ended leave of absence. He left the door propped precariously open.
“One day, I may come back, but right now, I need a break,” he said.
St-Pierre cited undisclosed personal issues, as well as the pressures of fighting at a championship level – in fact, fighting at a pound-for-pound best level – for several years, as the primary reasons for stepping away.
“I need to have a normal life for a little bit,” he added, the weight already lifting in his voice as the words tumbled out of his mouth.
Many people immediately began to sympathize, others to criticize.
But one man can truly empathize with St-Pierre… former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
He, unlike anyone else, is suited to understand St-Pierre’s emotions and the pressures of being a champion for such a long time, to be considered amongst the elite of the elite for years.
“I think that everyone knows their right timing and their moment they’re living and we’ve got to respect Georges St-Pierre for everything that he’s done in this sport,” Silva told MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday. “If he feels that this is the correct time, we’ve got to respect him.”
Silva, following his loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 over the summer, sounded as if he might follow the path that St-Pierre is now on. He sounded like a man that finally had the weight removed from his shoulders, the weight that comes from years of lugging a gold strap over your shoulder.
“Chris is the champion now. I finish my work,” Silva commented in the Octagon after Weidman knocked him out. “I no more fight for the belt. I fight for the belt for a long time. I’m tired.”
With the belt removed, it didn’t take long for Silva to stoke his competitive fires and want to get back in the Octagon. She is a seductive mistress.
Within weeks of the loss, he decided that he would rematch Weidman, and again pursue championship gold, welcoming the pressure back into his life.
Whether or not that same thing happens to St-Pierre remains to be seen. Will he have a realization that being a champion is as necessary to him as the air he breathes? Or will he discover life outside of the Octagon holds more for him than a gold belt can deliver?
Regardless of St-Pierre’s eventual direction, Silva says it is each man’s journey to travel, and that St-Pierre deserves the respect to follow the road that best suits him, not anyone else.
“Everyone knows their time and their moment that they’ve got to retire to take a step away, so we’ve got to respect him.”

 
 
http://www.mmaweekly.com/anderson-silva-empathizes-with-the-pressure-weve-got-to-respect-georges-st-pierre

Well shit if Anderson says so...

Not too many guys can empathize with GSP like Silva. It's gotta be a soul sucker staying on top that long not just waiting for the next guy in line to try and dethrone you, but having to go through all the training all the time, the injuries and to top it all off haters and whiners nipping at your heels getting air time.

Not too many guys left who are going to be able to maintain the championships year after year like Silva and GSP.

Nice to see some other champs coming out with support for GSP as well.

From Dec 18 MMA Nation:

Quote :

Rousey gave her take during Tuesday's (Dec. 17, 2013) UFC 168 conference call:

"We're not really doing a nine to five, but at the same time, it's difficult. If you fight for a living, you're fighting for your life. Every time you go in there it's a stressful situation if you think about it. The worse thing that can happen in your day isn't that someone will get your latte wrong or that you'll get fired; it's that you can really get physically harmed. Not just that, but your pride can get irreparably harmed, as well. That's a lot of stress to face time and time again. It's so much that you really have to have a real love and desire for what you do. You can't really fight and put your life on the line for anyone other than yourself. Every time a new fight comes along, you have to ask yourself if you still want that. Georges just passed the record for the most time ever spent in the Octagon; like actual time. So, you know, he just broke a record, no one else has spent that much time in the Octagon before. Can you really blame him for feeling like he was done? No one else had reached that point yet. I don't think it's reasonable to expect him to do more. If he wanted to do more, that's awesome, break that record even more. But if he feels like he's done, then, that's fine, man, be done and go rest. He deserved it. You don't have to risk your life for anyone."

Chrom wrote:

Well shit if Anderson says so...

Oh, right. My bad.
Here you go:

Chris Weidman's balls wrote:

GSP deserves our respect. Also, fuck Anderson Silva.

Chael Sonnen's balls wrote:

Agree with Chris. Also, Anderson Silva is a piece of shit.

Dan Henderson's balls wrote:

Totally. And Anderson Silva can go to hell. Seriously, fuck that guy.

Better?
  

But seriously, I agree with Krieger in that nobody can empathize with GSP like Silva can. Those two more than anybody else know the pressure's of being a longtime reigning UFC champion.

 

Brock Lesnar deserves our respect and admiration. And Sean Sherk possibly.

Who?

Pahhahaaa I just did my first -1!   

I don't know who hit you with the -1 on your post, but it honestly wasn't me. I'll probably just hit you back with one when you least expect it. That's more my style. lol