Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre is rumored to be in serious training for a return to MMA. In a recent episode of the Anik & Florian Podcast, Kenny Florian shared that he heard from “a well-known coach” that St-Pierre is preparing for a fight against another UFC champion.
That champion? None other than Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov retired following an October 2020 defense of his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje. Since then, rumors have swirled about his potential return to action. Although he has remained firm on his intention to stay retired, he is still the official UFC champion.
To be clear, the rumor of a St-Pierre vs. Nurmagomedov fight is just that, a rumor.
“Supposedly that is a fight, I don’t know if it’s confirmed, but it is a fight that Georges might be getting ready for and is preparing for. I don’t think he would be getting ready for that or be telling people that he’s going to be getting ready for a big fight unless it was actually happening,” said Florian.
St-Pierre is one of, if not the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter of all time. He held the UFC welterweight belt first from 2006-2007, then again from 2008 until his first hiatus from the sport in 2013. In 2017, St-Pierre returned to the Octagon, capturing the middleweight title from Michael Bisping.
As Florian speculates, a match-up with St-Pierre might be the only fight that would entice Nurmagomedov back to the cage. St-Pierre is a true legend of the sport; a win over him would pad Nurmagomedov’s legacy as well as his wallet.
However, Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, denied the rumors on Twitter.
Is this a fight that is coming together? Or is it just “fake news,” as Abdelaziz says? Right now, there aren’t any clear answers, but MMA fans around the world are certainly salivating at the thought of a potential Nurmagomedov vs. St-Pierre fight.
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