Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre revealed he retired because a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov didn’t come to fruition.
Earlier this year, there was talk of a super fight between the two, with Nurmagomedov, in particular, showing a great interest in facing his idol. In the end, it never happened, with St-Pierre later officially announcing his retirement.
Speaking to TSN recently, “GSP” revealed he and his camp tried to make that fight happen only for the UFC to state that they had other plans. Because of this, he decided to retire:
“A lot of people are attention seekers, they retire to come back and retire to come back,” St-Pierre said (via MMA Fighting). “I’m not that type of guy. We tried to make that fight with Khabib and the UFC told us they had other plans. Khabib wanted the fight, I wanted the fight, but unfortunately it did not happen. That’s the reason why I retired.
“For me, it’s a lot more to lose than to win now and the most important thing for me is my health. I’m no longer, right now as I’m talking, pursuing my goal, which back in the day was to be the best fighter in the world. It was for many years and now it’s not my number one priority anymore.”
The UFC has made it clear that they are open to lucrative super fights even if it disrupts a division. A St-Pierre vs. Nurmagomedov matchup would certainly be worth big money, so why did the Las Vegas-based promotion not go ahead with it?
St-Pierre believes it’s because a win would destroy their investment in the current UFC lightweight champion:
“Maybe they don’t want me to beat him because if I leave after that, I ruin their whole investment,” St-Pierre added.
Do you think St-Pierre would have defeated Nurmagomedov if they faced each other?
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