Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre doesn’t seem all that interested in a money fight with mixed martial arts (MMA) superstar Conor McGregor, but his coach sure does.
Despite GSP currently being sidelined by ulcerative colitis and having no plans of fighting an opponent who doesn’t add to his already pristine legacy, head coach Firas Zahabi would “love” to see his star pupil lock horns with “Notorious” inside of the cage. After all, with Jon Jones out of service, McGregor and St-Pierre are the two biggest pay-per-view (PPV) stars in the sport today.
“[They’re] two huge names,” Zahabi said in a recent interview with FightHub TV. “I would love the fight to happen. I don’t think it’s gonna happen. I think the size difference and Conor’s gotta defend the belt sooner or later. They can’t fight for a middleweight title, that would be considered crazy.”
“I think it would just be a megafight that the fans want to see,” he said. “It would just be a super-megafight that everybody in the world would want to see. I think it would be a bigger fight than Mayweather-McGregor. I think it would be the biggest fight in history and everybody would for sure want to see it. I don’t make the fights, but if I did, that would be one I’d make.”
While McGregor vs. GSP would unlikely eclipse the monetary potential and overall intrigue of McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather, a clash between “Notorious” and “Rush” would be an enormous opportunity for all parties involved. Of course, McGregor would be taking a huge step up in weight to challenge St-Pierre, who possesses one of the worst matchups for the Irishman on paper.
If this long shot of a superfight was ever to happen McGregor’s only chance to defeat St-Pierre would be to land one of his patented left hands. And while Zahabi acknowledges the dangers that come with a McGregor knockout blow, he’s extremely confident that St-Pierre, who just walked through Michael Bisping’s best shots at UFC 217, would have a massive advantage inside of the cage.
“Listen, Georges is fully aware of the karate stuff and Taekwondo ranges and the distances McGregor uses,” Zahabi explained. “He grew up in that. McGregor’s very good at keeping that distance and when you cross the distance, he punches you. Georges understands that game so well plus Georges is much more schooled in wrestling and jiu-jitsu, so I’ve got to put it all on Georges side.
“McGregor has that deadly, accurate left, I’ll give him that. He has a better cross than Georges, definitely, but Georges is too smart, too intelligent, too calculated. It’s highly unlikely he will get hit with it. Not impossible, just highly unlikely.”
While there are other matchups to make for both McGregor and St-Pierre moving forward, you can’t dismiss the possibility of UFC pulling off another cash grab and booking this lopsided affair.