Georges St-Pierre Has Turned The Page on Fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov

Although Georges St-Pierre has been retired for a little while now, buzz about him returning to the cage to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at some point, hasn’t disappeared. But, in a recent interview the Canadian star did, GSP relayed that he’s closed the book on his fighting career.

After St-Pierre vacated the UFC’s middleweight title, due to his battle with ulcerative colitis, there was extensive speculation as to whether the former welterweight champ would fight again. GSP eventually made it clear that he was interested in fighting Nurmagomedov, and the latter also campaigned for the bout. But, UFC President Dana White repeatedly said he wasn’t down with the proposed match-up, and St-Pierre eventually retired.

Well, despite all that, speculation has continued, as to whether, just maybe, Nurmagomedov – GSP might happen. Especially if Khabib continues to defend the lightweight belt. Recently St-Pierre spoke with TSN, and when asked about facing the undefeated, lightweight champ, he said this (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“It was on my mind when I retired,” St-Pierre said. “I really wanted to do it, but now, telling you the truth, UFC were clear, they had other plans for Khabib so I turned a page. I cannot wait for the fight to happen and twiddle my thumbs. I have other plans for my life. Being the best fighter in the world is not my number one priority anymore. It used to be, now it’s not. I have family, friends, I have a lot of more important things to do. I have other projects down the road.

“Family is the number one priority. It’s very important. Family and health is very important.”

Then, while talking about just fighting in general, the legend said this:

“It’s not because I can’t, it’s because I don’t want,” St-Pierre said. “It’s not worth it to dedicate all my focus and concentration to this if I’m not gonna fight and get the fight that I want, you know what I mean? So it’s not that I can’t do it. I could come back and fight again but my heart is not there…”

So, it certainly does sound like St-Pierre’s storied career is indeed over. Could he still be lured back into the Octagon with a big offer to fight Nurmagomedov? Especially if it was for early 2020? You never know right? But, based off comments White has made in the past about this, that just seems very unlikely.

Nurmagomedov is scheduled to fight interim champ Dustin Poirier at UFC 242, September 7th.