Photo by Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images
Once Khabib beats Justin Gaethje, he’s made it clear that no opponent in the UFC interests him except currently retired former champ Georges St-Pierre.
As excited as people are to see Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje, and as much of a chance Gaethje has to actually win, everyone continues to wonder what Khabib will do next after smeshing Justin.
It’s by no means a sure thing, but knowing what’s in Nurmagomedov’s mind is still something we can speculate on. And up until now, speculation is all we had. Khabib has kept future plans on tight lockdown, always saying it’s Gaethje at UFC 254 on October 24th he’s focused on.
But on ESPN’s First Take, Khabib once again called for a fight against GOAT contender and former UFC welterweight / middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre.
“I really become excited when I think about Georges St-Pierre,” Khabib said when asked what opponent might excite him. “I don’t know if he wants to fight with me or not? Can he make weight, 155 or not?”
“But this fight makes me excited, honestly. And I think me versus Georges is going to be very very big fight. Very big fight. Like big fights for fans, big fight for pay-per-view. Big fight for analytics, for everybody. For fighters, you know … this is the only fight in the UFC – after Gaethje – that makes me very excited.”
Khabib has been angling for a fight with Georges St-Pierre for a long time, and the feeling is mutual. Unfortunately, the UFC was so disinterested in the idea that GSP couldn’t even get a callback on the idea, leading to him officially retiring. But he’s stayed in suspiciously good shape since that retirement, and is looking a stone’s throw away from being able to hit 155 pounds with a weight cut. And let’s also remember that Khabib forced the UFC to include a good faith negotiation clause for a GSP fight into his new contract.
But what about a rematch with Conor McGregor? Just in case you haven’t been following Khabib news for the last two years let us update you: Khabib hates McGregor, and not in the “I want to punch you in the face,” way but the “Put your hand in s**t, your hand smells like s**t,” way. Nurmagomedov has used every variation of the word “No” and “Never” yet people keep asking him. They asked him if he’d face the winner of McGregor vs. Poirier in this same First Take interview and here’s what he said.
“You know about both of them, I finished both of them,” Khabib said. “And finished in dominant position, dominant performance. I’m not interested in either of these guys because I need new blood, new energy. Justin Gaethje gives me new maturation. He is real deal. Right now he is interim champ, he is very tough guy. If I think about both Dustin and Conor, they don’t give me good energy, they don’t give me maturation.
“Fight? For what? For my legacy?” Khabib concluded. “I always put these guys on my desk. I already beat them. Everything finished with these guys. I need new someone.”
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 254 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN 2/ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
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