Former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre appears to be interested in the challenge presented by former lightweight gold holder, the recently retired, Khabib Nurmagomedov, although admitted, almost reluctantly that a pairing of the two would never materialize — a situation he described as “unfortunate“””.
Last competing at UFC 217 back in November of 2017, St-Pierre snapped a four-year hiatus from the Octagon and the sport — returning in a middleweight title main event against then-champion, Michael Bisping — headlining a Madison Square Garden pay-per-view card.
Appearing never to lose a step in his time away from professional mixed martial arts, St-Pierre became a two-weight champion under the UFC’s banner via a fourth round rear-naked choke win over Bisping, before relinquishing the title later that year before a unification bout with Robert Whittaker — citing an ongoing battle with ulcerative colitis.
In the time since, St-Pierre, who announced his retirement from mixed martial arts at a February 2019 press conference in his native Canada, was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in May of last year as part of the organization’s modern wing of talent.
For Nurmagomedov, the Dagestani sambo specialist called time on his perfect 29-0 professional career immediately following his lightweight title unification win over Justin Gaethje last October on ‘Fight Island’ following the passing of his father Abdulamanap Nurmagomedov due to health issues stemming from a bout of COVID-19.
Appearing during a recent interview with Bleacher Report reporter, Tom Taylor — St-Pierre addressed the prospect of a potential superfight against Nurmagomedov and explained how a timeframe what would have been a well-received bout was an issue for the promotion, and how the pairing will likely never materialize.
“I believe if you make that fight (with Khabib Nurmagomedov) 10 times, it could be 10 different outcomes — but we’re never going to see it, unfortunately,” St-Pierre explained. “Timing was an issue with the UFC. It’s unfortunate, but it could be seen as a positive that both of us finished our careers with a great legacy, and nothing has been tainted — so it’s good.” (H/T BJPENN.com)
Following his win over Bisping, St-Pierre was also linked to potential meetings with then-welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley as well as a potential comeback the following year against recent UFC 263 feature, Nate Diaz — however, both pairings failed to ever come to fruition.