Khabib Nurmagomedov closes door on GSP superfight: “It’s all over, brother”

Khabib Nurmagomedov has finally closed the door on his long-desired superfight with former two-division UFC champ Georges St-Pierre.

Nurmagomedov last fought in October, when he submitted Justin Gaethje to defend the UFC lightweight title for a third time. After that victory, he announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

Despite his retirement announcement, Nurmagomedov is still officially the UFC lightweight champion. That’s due primarily to UFC President Dana White, who has expressed optimism that he can convince Nurmagomedov to fight one last time.

While Nurmagomedov has made it very clear that he doesn’t intend to end his retirement, he has long expressed interest in a fight with the MMA legend St-Pierre, who previously held the UFC welterweight and middleweight titles. That potential fight with St-Pierre was viewed as one of the only challenges with the significance to lure Nurmagomedov out of retirement.

Unfortunately for anyone hoping to see Nurmagomedov fight again, it seems he’s finally given up on meeting St-Pierre in the cage—and the feeling seems to be mutual. 

“When you say Georges St-Pierre, that name really motivates me,” Nurmagomedov said during an interview with fellow fighter Magomed Ismailov (via MMA Fighting). “GSP really makes me excited and so on but it’s all over, brother. He’s 40 years old. Let’s just leave it. For sure we like him as a human being. He is the legend. He is the decent representation of mixed martial arts. Let it be like this, there’s GSP and Khabib.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from mixed martial arts with a flawless, 29-0 overall record. Highlights of his incredible resume include his recent submission win over Gaethje, as well as lopsided defeats of fighters like Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Al Iaquinta, Edson Barboza, Michael Johnson, and Rafael dos Anjos.

Do you think the unbeaten lightweight star will ever fight again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.