Khabib Nurmagomedov rejected grappling bout with Georges St-Pierre in UFC return: ‘It was all over’

Khabib Nurmagomedov rejected grappling match with George St-Pierre no desire UFCKhabib Nurmagomedov’s manager, Rizvan Magomedov has confirmed that his client was approached regarding a potential grappling match with former two-weight champion, Georges St-Pierre, however, rejected the notion the former lightweight champion turned down a $5,000,000 payday to make a return. Nurmagomedov, a former undisputed lightweight champion and promotional Hall of Fame inductee, called time on […]

Khabib Nurmagomedov rejected grappling match with George St-Pierre no desire UFC

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager, Rizvan Magomedov has confirmed that his client was approached regarding a potential grappling match with former two-weight champion, Georges St-Pierre, however, rejected the notion the former lightweight champion turned down a $5,000,000 payday to make a return.

Nurmagomedov, a former undisputed lightweight champion and promotional Hall of Fame inductee, called time on his undefeated mixed martial arts career back in 2020, bowing out of the sport boasting an unbeaten 29-0 professional record.

In his last outing, the American Kickboxing Academy staple submitted then-interim champion, Justin Gaethje with a second round triangle choke, before announcing his retirement from combat sports with immediate effect, after the passing of his father and head coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov

Tipped to eventually make a return to the Octagon, Nurmagomedov has stressed that he is aware of fan’s desire to see him compete once more, however, insists in terms of hunger for his own comeback he is “full”.

Khabib Nurmagomedov openly turned down a BJJ match with Georges St-Pierre

And according to his European manager, Magomedov, figures on a potential grappling match with the returning former two-division UFC champion and fellow Hall of Fame star, St-Pierre were never discussed – with only the topic of a potential showdown briefly broached.

“Where did Craig Jones get the figure of $5,000,000? Rizvan Magomedov questioned Russian outlet, TASS during a recent interview. “Maybe his grandmother whispered these numbers to him, it looks funny.” 

“They [UFC} proposed to hold a fight [grappling match between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre], but the conversation didn’t even reach the [financial] amounts,” Magomedov explained. “They didn’t even discuss [it] – they didn’t ask what amount and price. They asked (Khabib Nurmagomedov) if there was a desire [to return] or not. Then it was all over.” 

As for St-Pierre, the Canadian favorite is set to make a grappling outing on UFC Fight Pass – while reports of a competition against decorated submission threat, Demian Maia, are believed to still be premature. 

Georges St-Pierre Admits He Wasn’t Trying To Finish Fights

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is on the cusp of a massive comeback. The when and whereabouts are not yet known, although rumours surrounding UFC 206 in Toronto are rampant. An obvious rematch with Nick Diaz, title fight against Tyron Woodley or even a super fight with Conor McGregor are all on the table.

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Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is on the cusp of a massive comeback. The when and whereabouts are not yet known, although rumours surrounding UFC 206 in Toronto are rampant. An obvious rematch with Nick Diaz, title fight against Tyron Woodley or even a super fight with Conor McGregor are all on the table. Legends like St-Pierre are always going to have many options available, and just a glance at his record shows why.

Arguably the greatest welterweight to ever grace the octagon, ‘Rush’ left the sport behind in a highly unexpected moment back in 2013. Following a super-squeaky split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, GSP declared he needed some time away. Relinquishing the title he’d held so firmly, St-Pierre simply walked away. Speculation over the Canadian’s return has raged on since that day. After three years, the stars are finally starting to align. There are doubters though.

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 The Fire

There’s been a lot of talk about GSP’s motivation to come back and fight again. UFC president Dana White recently said he doesn’t believe the former 170-pound king truly has the desire. ‘Rush’ responded by saying White knew nothing about him, and his motivation would be clear within one minute of his next fight starting.

Surely St-Pierre would not be foolish enough to come back to the UFC over pride or self conflict? You’d imagine so, but obviously anything is possible. One interesting clip was picked up by Toothless MMA, and it shows GSP being very truthful to himself. Recognizing his fire was gone back in 2013, St-Pierre admits he wasn’t even trying to finish fights toward the end of his championship reign:

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No Finish

“Critics said I was fighting more to win instead of finishing the fight and it’s true. Towards the end, I didn’t have the same anger, I didn’t have the same drive to hurt the guy and to finish it. And it’s a fact. I tried to get it back, but it is very hard and I think the best way to get it back for me is to step out, because it’s more an emotion thing.”

“I was fighting more for winning instead of for going through the guy. I needed to step out to let my hunger go up.”

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Motivation is Key

When the news of Georges St-Pierre’s comeback fight is finally made official, there will be plenty of time for debate. For now, ponder this–how would the current UFC crop fare against the motivated GSP that wreaked havoc on the division for eight years?

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Demian Maia: I Just Beat The Guy Who Should’ve Been Champ

One week after the record-breaking UFC 202 pay-per-view where Conor McGregor outlasted Nate Diaz in a back-and-forth war, Demian Maia made a thunderous statement with a sub-two-minute submission win over Carlos Condit (watch full highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., August 27, 2016) UFC on FOX 21 from Vancouver, although it may

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One week after the record-breaking UFC 202 pay-per-view where Conor McGregor outlasted Nate Diaz in a back-and-forth war, Demian Maia made a thunderous statement with a sub-two-minute submission win over Carlos Condit (watch full highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., August 27, 2016) UFC on FOX 21 from Vancouver, although it may not have drummed up much attention.

Maia’s style, as perhaps the finest Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner in MMA today, has never been the most fan-friendly. He’s often been known to smother opponents in the early-going of bouts only to gas out later while still maintaining an irreversible top control due to the massive gap in skill he possesses over even most elite MMA fighters on the ground.

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But that shouldn’t matter at all, because Maia has won six straight fights in arguably the most competitive and deep division in the UFC. Since returning to his roots of jiu-jitsu following his failed title bid at middleweight where he inexplicably got away from his most natural skillset in an attempt to out-strike his opponents, Maia has never looked more at home. That has him on the cusp of another title shot, this time at 170 pounds versus new champion Tyron Woodley, yet that’s been promised to No. 2 contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.

Speaking up at the FOX Sports 1 post-fight show following his statement victory over Condit, Maia said he could see why the UFC may pass Thompson over for him due to his age. If that ends up not the case, then Maia just hopes they sign Woodley vs. “Wonderboy” soon:

“I think so. I respect very much Thompson, he’s a great guy. Of course, I’m much older than him so if they could give it to me first, that would be great.

“If not, I hope they give (it) to him really fast and they decide and I wait to see who wins the fight.”

Maia knows that realistically, however, the fight is most likely going to go to Thompson after UFC President Dana White recently made it clear that Woodley wouldn’t get the “money fights” he wanted with Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz that he called out for when he snubbed Thompson mere minutes after winning the belt with a title-clinching first round knockout over Robbie Lawler in the main event of July 30’s UFC 201.

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With that being the direction the promotion will probably take, Maia said he’s willing to wait for the winner of Woodley vs. Thompson, because he feels like in Condit, he just beat the man who should have been champion based on his controversial split decision loss to Lawler at January 2’s UFC 195:

“I’ll wait. I can stay active in training and doing my teaching, doing what I do everyday. The guy I fought today is not just a former champion, but he is also a guy that many people including me and I was watching Octagon-side his fight against (Robbie) Lawler and many people including me thought he won and he was supposed to be the champ.

“So what else should I do? I have six wins in a row and that’s it.”

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