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For now, the much-discussed dream fight between current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre seems to be off the cards.
UFC president Dana White recently claimed that neither Khabib Nurmagomedov nor Georges St-Pierre was interested in fighting one another. Nevertheless, the combat sports community has seemingly taken this claim with a grain of salt, as many fans and experts believe that Khabib and GSP are both still interested in the fight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and GSP have time and again expressed interest in testing their combat skills against each other. However, after Nurmagomedov retired from the sport of MMA in October 2020, the likelihood of this fight taking place has rapidly deteriorated.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has clarified that he’ll respect his mother’s wishes and won’t compete as a professional MMA fighter again
Russian superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov has often asserted that he would like to fight Georges St-Pierre. However, he seems to have moved on from the sport and isn’t interested in fighting anyone, including GSP.
Khabib Nurmagomedov crashed a Schmo interview earlier this month (January 2021) and jested – “Say hello to GSP.” Many viewed this as Nurmagomedov teasing a fight with GSP, but there have been no developments ever since.
"My mother is the most precious thing I have left. Come on, you won't push me to do things that disappoint my mother." Khabib Nurmagomedov said in a recent interview with Sport24ru.
After his father and lifelong coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s passing in July 2020, Khabib’s mother made him promise that he won’t continue his MMA career without his father by his side. Resultantly, Khabib faced and beat Justin Gaethje in October 2020, took his MMA record to 29-0, and then retired from MMA.
Georges St-Pierre suggested that the weight class might be an issue in booking this fight
In a recent appearance on the Michael Bisping Podcast, GSP noted that he (GSP) isn’t as young anymore and cutting down to lightweight at his age to face Nurmagomedov wouldn’t make sense. GSP stated:
"It's like everybody seems like, 'Oh when is it gonna happen?", like I never said I wanted to do it. It depends, the conditions you know. I could think about it seriously if the conditions are right, in terms of the weight class and all that. But, you know, there's no way I'm gonna go down at 155 now. I'm 39 years old and this is out of the window."
Presently, the consensus in the combat sports world is that Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre won’t come to fruition. Regardless, the adage 'never say never' holds true in every industry, including combat sports.
Do you feel the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. GSP fight could take place, if not now then a few years down the line? Sound off in the comments.
