Mendez: GSP The Only Fight That Might Bring Khabib Back

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We’re starting to think maybe the UFC should look into GSP as an opponent for Khabib Nurmagomedov… We get a decent amount of heat around here for continuing to b…


UFC 219: Cyborg v Holm
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

We’re starting to think maybe the UFC should look into GSP as an opponent for Khabib Nurmagomedov…

We get a decent amount of heat around here for continuing to bring up a potential Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre superfight. But when everyone around Khabib keeps namedropping GSP as the only fighter that’ll get Khabib back into the cage … well, we’re duty bound to report that to you, no matter how often UFC president Dana White tries to down play the idea.

The latest exhibit in our exhaustive collection of ‘Khabib would return to fight St-Pierre’ evidence is Nurmagomedov’s head coach, AKA’s Javier Mendez.

“You guys gotta remember, the key thing is, he’s gotta ask his mother for permission too,” Mendez told Submission Radio. “And I didn’t see GSP being offered. And I thought the only way he was gonna come out of it was if GSP was in that picture.”

“But based what it happened, I don’t see why he would want to come out and fight anybody. Why? Fighting the best is not gonna motivate him. He’s not looking at the money aspect of it. But if they can put GSP, if they can put GSP on the table, maybe there’s a chance there.”

“And I’m not saying it will happen, because I don’t know, but I’m just saying GSP might be the only one. I’ve always thought it was GSP, because that’s what his father wanted, and I think if they can get that one worked out and he can get his mother’s permission, I think that one could work. But I don’t think anybody else is gonna work. Period.”

“If he asked my opinion, I would say hold out for GSP, or retire,” Mendez said. “That’s what I would tell him. But he’s never asked me, so that conversation never took place.”

Mendez made it clear that White’s attempts to keep pushing Conor McGregor weren’t going to pay off.

“You’re never gonna get that rematch,” he said. “Just like you’re never going to get the Tony and Khabib fight. That’s never gonna happen either. It’s not gonna happen. I mean, Khabib doesn’t need it. He seems fulfilled. And like I said, I think the only juicy part for him is what his father wanted, GSP. I’ve said it many times. And who knows, maybe that’s out of the question now.”

“Maybe GSP doesn’t want it, maybe Khabib don’t want it now. I don’t know, cause I never talked to Khabib about what he wants, I’ve always listened to him.”