Firas Zahabi has teased Georges St-Pierre’s return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship after claiming his fighter “cannot stay away.”
Appearing on the MMA Hour, Zahabi, head coach of Tristar Gym in Montreal, Canada, said GSP may return for a “motivating” fight, touching on McGregor’s submission defeat to Diaz at UFC 196 (h/t Bloody Elbow’s Anton Tabuena):
“If McGregor had won, he’s just a guy that stirs the pot like nobody else,” said Zahabi. “It could have been crazy if he called out Georges, it could have been crazy if Nate called out Georges. Anything could have been motivating for Georges, I think it could have happened. Nothing happened.”
When pushed for a prediction on GSP’s future, Zahabi said “yeah, he [St-Pierre] comes back in 2016.”
GSP’s trainer stated that sooner or later, his fighter will get the urge to return, and the emergence of McGregor as a welterweight contender makes him a potential candidate after rising from featherweight:
I personally think, if you ask me my own personal opinion, I think he cannot stay away. I think he’ll eventually get bit by the bug and he’ll eventually do something spontaneous. That’s just Georges.
I think he’s doing so much in his life, that it has to be a fight that really excites him enough to pause everything he is doing. MMA competition has taken such a huge chunk out of his life, that for him to comeback and put his life on pause again, put all his time and energy into training camp and all that, it has to come down to his management and UFC working something out, working a deal, and a fight that makes him want to comeback.
St-Pierre was in attendance at UFC 196 earlier in March, where Diaz handed McGregor his first UFC defeat, submitting the Irishman—who was making his welterweight debut—via rear-naked choke in the second round.
The Quebec native spoke to UFC’s Megan Olivi before the fight and described McGregor as “fantastic” before going on to say he was strictly on hand to see friends, not surveying any potential opponents:
It’s been almost two-and-a-half years since 25-2 St-Pierre defeated Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 before announcing his retirement from the sport, citing burnout as the reason behind his decision.
The 34-year-old took his leave of the sport following a controversial split-decision win over Hendricks in Las Vegas, bowing out after successfully defending his welterweight belt for the ninth time in succession:
Diaz has plenty of reason to seek a fixture opposite GSP, considering his older brother, Nick, suffered a unanimous decision defeat to the Canadian three years ago, as shown by UFC Europe:
Zahabi himself has also suggested on Twitter he would try to set up a bout between Diaz and St-Pierre, who has never ruled out the possibility of a return to fighting:
According to MMA Hour presenter Ariel Helwani, McGregor and Diaz are set to meet again at 170 pounds at UFC 200 on July 9 as The Notorious looks to reclaim the pride he lost last time he fought in Las Vegas (h/t Stephen Barry of the Irish Examiner).
Zahabi also touched upon the notion that St-Pierre may no longer be motivated by championship shots and doesn’t want to “start getting into the whole world of defending his title over and over again.”
It appears superfights are more appealing to the veteran, something which McGregor or Diaz could potentially present, but much will depend on the outcome of UFC 200, should a rematch go ahead as expected.
If McGregor were to lose to Diaz for a second time in succession, it would appear highly unlikely he’d stick around at welterweight, and of the two fighters, it’s the Stockton native who might appeal more to GSP.
However, The Notorious’ options would explode if he were to gain his redemption and earn his first career victory above lightweight, and a potential fixture opposite St-Pierre could be but one of his future fights.
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