Firas Zahabi explains why Georges St-Pierre would beat Conor McGregor

At present, it’s not known what the future holds for former UFC welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre. He might return to the Octagon, or he might not.

If St-Pierre does return to the Octagon, one of the most compelling options for him as far as opponents go would be current UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. At least, that’s what St-Pierre’s head coach Firas Zahabi believes.

In a recent conversation with FightHub TV, Zahabi drooled over this prospective bout, comparing it to Mayweather vs. McGregor and calling it the biggest fight in history.

“[They’re] two huge names,” Zahabi said (h/t MMAFighting.com). “I would love the fight to happen. I don’t think it’s gonna happen. I think the size difference and Conor’s gotta defend the belt sooner or later. They can’t fight for a middleweight title, that would be considered crazy.

“I think it would just be a megafight that the fans want to see. It would just be a super-megafight that everybody in the world would want to see. I think it would be a bigger fight than Mayweather-McGregor. I think it would be the biggest fight in history and everybody would for sure want to see it. I don’t make the fights, but if I did, that would be one I’d make.”

While Zahabi understands this fight is unlikely, it’s one he thinks St-Pierre would win. He believes his student could simultaneously avoid McGregor’s legendary left hand whilst imposing his own game.

“Listen, Georges is fully aware of the karate stuff and Taekwondo ranges and the distances McGregor uses,” Zahabi explained. “He grew up in that. McGregor’s very good at keeping that distance and when you cross the distance, he punches you. Georges understands that game so well plus Georges is much more schooled in wrestling and jiu-jitsu, so I’ve got to put it all on Georges side.

“McGregor has that deadly, accurate left, I’ll give him that. He has a better cross than Georges, definitely, but Georges is too smart, too intelligent, too calculated. It’s highly unlikely he will get hit with it. Not impossible, just highly unlikely.”

Does a Georges St-Pierre vs. Conor McGregor fight interest you?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/7/2018.