Georges St-Pierre wants Khabib fight, but believes UFC is protecting investment

Georges St-Pierre wants to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khabib Nurmagomedov wants to fight Georges St-Pierre. So why isn’t this fight between the two decorated UFC champions and bona fide MMA superstars being made? Well, St-Pierre suspects the UFC could be protecting its investment in Nurmagomedov.

The former welterweight and middleweight champ St-Pierre addressed this potential super fight in a recent interview with Robin Black of DAZN.

Yes your man @GeorgesStPierre would love to fight @TeamKhabib.
And we sure know #KhabibTime would love to fight #GSP.

FULL GSP INTERVIEW: https://t.co/QaESdzF5ec

(Poirier First tho! Awesome!)

@DAZN_USA @AliAbdelaziz00 pic.twitter.com/QIZCBYP5TB

— Robin Black (@robinblackmma) September 4, 2019

“It makes sense in a way my agent explained to me,” St-Pierre said. “Maybe [Nurmagomedov] represents a significant investment for UFC. He reaches a different type of clientele — in the Middle East, the Muslim world — they idolize him. He’s an icon. Imagine they invest a lot of money to promote a big fight between Khabib and I, and I win the fight. [Then] I’m out. I’m not interested in signing a fight with Khabib and guaranteeing them that I want to go back and fight another contender.”

Georges St-Pierre added that this fight has never been about a title for him, and that he would have happily met Nurmagomedov at a catchweight with no belt on the line.

This fight, for me, it didn’t need to be for a title,” he said. “It would have been at a catchweight. I would have been interested in doing it, but the UFC had other plans for Khabib.”

St-Pierre, of course, is currently retired, and believes that it could be for the best that a fight with Nurmagomedov does not seem like it will materialize.

“Maybe it’s a good thing,” he told Black. “The fighter is always the last person to think ‘it’s time to retire.’ Maybe I would have gone back and got my ass kicked by Khabib. I don’t think so — I’m confident I’m still the best in the world if I prepare — but the reality is that I’m getting older.”

Do you want to see Georges St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov fight?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/4/2019.