UFC: 5 Potential Sites for a Georges St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva Bout

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva delivered another fantastic performance at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, finishing challenger Yushin Okami in brutal fashion in the second round.

Now that another top contender has been cast aside, who is left to face "The Spider"?

Fans again are calling for a superfight between Silva and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre.

The reigning welterweight king is also close to cleaning out his division with former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz as the next, and possibly last, challenger to his belt.

With both fighters seeking only big fights against big names, this potential matchup is starting to make more and more sense, as attested to by UFC President Dana White.

But where would such a monumental bout like this take place?

"There are still a lot of fights for Anderson to do in his division and Georges Saint-Pierre, too," said White after UFC 134. "But it's about time for it to happen. I don't know if we have a stadium that could handle a fight like that." 

Well here are five possible sites that might be able to handle what could be the biggest event in UFC history. 

5. Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan

The UFC is tentatively scheduled to return to Japan in February of 2012, with the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan the possible host stadium.

As the first UFC event to be held in Japan since UFC 30, a successful showing would encourage the promotion's brass to return to the land of the rising sun for future events.

If UFC President Dana White and company want to truly make the promotion a global entity, what better strategy then to bring the biggest fight in MMA history to the East, where what we know as martial arts began?

The perfect site in Japan to host the event would be the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

The stadium can hold up to 55,000 people for baseball games and significantly more for an MMA event.

The Tokyo Dome has history with the fighting sports as well. It has been used for many boxing matches over the years, going down in history as the site where legend Mike Tyson suffered his first professional defeat.

More importantly to MMA fans, the Tokyo Dome was the site where Pride all started, hosting almost 50,000 fans in their first event at Pride 1 in 1997.

Although Japanese MMA has waned in recent years, an event like this would not only motivate the Japanese fan base, but it would also attract record crowds and increase the brand's global appeal.

4. Convention Center of Manaus, Manaus, Brazil

After such a successful weekend in Rio de Janeiro for UFC 134, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta has already spoken to Brazilian officials to bring the UFC back to Brazil in 2012.

Not only do they plan to bring an event back to the birth place of vale tudo, but they also plan to break records.

The Convention Center of Manaus in Manaus, Brazil has been thrown around as a possible site, one of many outdoor "sambadromes" that can hold up to 100,000 fans, which boasts a metro area of over two million people.

If you can believe it, this past weekend's event at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro hosted only 14,000 fans, although they sounded like a lot more.

Brazil has proven itself to be a hot bed for MMA fans who love their idols. Bringing Anderson Silva back to his home country to an even bigger audience would be an insane event—especially if it is against GSP.

Having the biggest bout in history in the birthplace of MMA would be a recipe for success for the UFC.

3. Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario hosted the largest audience in UFC history at UFC 129 with nearly 56,000 fans in attendance.

The event, which featured Canada's own Georges St. Pierre against multiple-time world champion Jake Shields, was the largest UFC event in North America, shattering the MMA attendance and gate records for the continent.

Originally scheduled to hold on 42,000 fans, calls for more seats were met with the promotion expanding seating to over 55,000.

Returning to the venue with St. Pierre vs. Silva would be a logical choice for the UFC.

It is in the country with one of the biggest MMA fan bases, the Rogers Centre can hold a large number of fans, and it is in the home country of one of the fighters. The combination would make for the largest event in UFC history.

The Rogers Centre has already proven itself to be a great venue and bringing GSP vs. Silva there would be a win for fans and the promotion alike.

2. Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Plans to bring the UFC to Cowboys Stadium have been talked about for years as the sport has gained popularity.

As rumors about the superfight gained steam earlier this year, fans have envisioned bringing the fight to the site of Super Bowl XLV.

Although these talks have tempered, the stadium still remains a prime spot for the possible St. Pierre-vs.-Silva bout.   

In 2010, Manny Pacquiao took on Joshua Clottey to a crowd of almost 51,000. Cowboys Stadium could possibly hold double that crowd since they have the capacity to hold over 100,000 fans for football and basketball events.

Critics claim that the UFC could not draw such a large crowd, but pitting the sport's two best fighters against each other under the UFC banner—now with the FOX partnership—should have no trouble selling out the stadium.

Seeing these two legends duke it out on the Cowboys Stadium's 160-foot wide screen would be one of the most exciting sites to see if the event were held there.

1. Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

The only thing that has eluded MMA fans more than the dream match between St. Pierre and Silva is the legalization of the sport in the Big Apple.

UFC President Dana White and other industry leaders have been pushing for years to get MMA sanctioned in New York, only to be met with resistance by the State Assembly.

In 2011, there was a vast improvement over the sport finally getting legalized, but work still needs to be done.

Silva will most likely face the winner of the Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann, and St. Pierre awaits his fight with Nick Diaz. Both fighters still have at least a fight or two before they can take each other on for the pound-for-pound crown.

Factor in time for training camps and the superfight will probably not happen until late next summer or early fall. That gives the New York Assembly and the UFC plenty of time to finally get this deal done.

What better place to have the biggest fight in MMA history than Madison Square Garden?

This superfight would conjure up nostalgia of boxing's past. Rocky Marciano vs. Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, Bernard Hopkins vs. Felix Trinidad. All historic bouts that were held in the confines of Madison Square Garden.

As the Garden has gone through many transformation, so has fighting sports.  

If GSP vs. Silva does happen, it needs to happen in the Big Apple.

A man can dream, can't he?