Khabib Nurmagomedov insists he no longer has any interest in a super fight with former two-weight UFC champion, Georges St-Pierre.
‘The Eagle’ was expected to face St-Pierre after defending his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last year. However, the undefeated Russian fighter shocked the world by announcing his retirement immediately after choking out ‘The Highlight’.
Despite the desperate attempts of Dana White, Nurmagomedov solidified his retirement from the sport at 32-years-old by relinquishing the lightweight title and withdrawing from the USADA testing pool.
In a May appearance on Mike Tyson’s podcast, Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz claimed the UFC recently proposed a mega-money fight with ‘GSP’. Nurmagomedov quickly declined that offer and is also thought to have rejected up to 0 million for a fight with Floyd Mayweather.
In an interview with MMA Junkie, Nurmagomedov confirmed he rejected an offer to fight St-Pierre, insisting he is really done with fighting.
“He sent me a message and said, ‘Hey, Georges St-Pierre wants to fight with you,’” Nurmagomedov said. “I said, ‘What can I do?’ I don’t know. I’m finished, you know? I think Georges is finished, too, you know. Let this guy be a legend. He’s 40 years old and I don’t understand why he has to fight. I think he has money, too. I’m finished. I’m really finished.”
“I’m only 32 years old,” Nurmagomedov added. “People are going to talk about this (for) maybe the next seven (or) eight years. Because for MMA, a lot of guys on the top are 37, 38, 39. They’re still on the top. People are going to talk about this until that day comes I think.”
St-Pierre, 40, hasn’t competed in any form since dethroning Michael Bisping at UFC 217 in November 2017. The Canadian MMA legend was recently linked to a boxing match with Oscar De La Hoya but that fight was blocked by the UFC who have him under contract for the next two years. ‘GSP’ in on the record as saying he’s up for some “novelty” fights once his UFC contract expires.
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