Khabib Nurmagomedov has repeatedly argued that Conor McGregor hasn’t done enough to warrant a rematch, and he’s also relayed he’d like to fight legend, Georges St-Pierre.  Well, while a lot of people don’t see the latter fight going down, Khabib’s manager Ali Abdelaziz believes it will happen before McGregor faces the champ again.

Abdelaziz thinks Nurmagomedov vs. GSP will go down before Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor 2

After St-Pierre vacated the middleweight title he took from Michael Bisping back in 2017, due to a battle with ulcerative colitis, he said only a fight that enhanced his legacy further would bring him back to the UFC. In the following months, St-Pierre relayed a bout with Nurmagmedov would fit that bill.

The lightweight champ also repeatedly said he was very interested in fighting St-Pierre.

Despite their wishes, UFC President Dana White shot down the idea for sometime, by citing the fact GSP never defended the middleweight title. It wasn’t until last year, after St-Pierre had retired, that White said the bout could materialize.

Well, fast forward to today, and the supposed plan is to have Khabib fight the winner of the May 9th bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje later this, likely in September, But, since McGregor has repeatedly called for a rematch with Khabib, talk about that fight happening, has never gone away.

While talking to MMA Junkie recently, however, Abdelaziz offered this take.

“He’s Khabib’s ‘son,’ he’s my ‘nephew,’ and I think my nephew needs to sit back a little and let the big boys handle business – let (Justin) Gaethje fight Tony (Ferguson),” Abdelaziz said. “If you say Khabib No. 1, Gaethje and Tony are No. 2 and 3, (McGregor’s) No. 4.

“And No. 4, he’s probably going to sit out maybe a year before he gets a crack at a title. But I can see Khabib fighting ‘GSP’ before he fights Conor. I really truly do.

I’m not trying to promote a fight … and I know Georges did an interview and said some things. But let’s see what happens.”

“Khabib is always going to be fair to the contenders,” Abdelaziz said. “One thing fighters should respect, and they will miss: Khabib is never going to step over a No. 1 contender for a money fight. I promise you that.

If you’re the No. 1 contender, he’s going to give you a shot over a money fight. But listen, Conor makes a lot of sense financially. It’s a lot more money. As a fight, I think Khabib can make $50 million (against McGregor).”

Is Abdelaziz’s hunch right?

So, it’s an interesting question.

In terms of Conor fighting Khabib again in 2020, right now, the odds of that happening seem pretty slim. Khabib would need to emerge from his next title defense unscathed, and with the title, and McGregor would need to score a big, pivotal win in the interim (if you take Khabib at his word, in terms of McGregor needing to defeat top contenders first).

If that happens, could the money convince Khabib to fight McGregor sooner than he initially said? Maybe.

As far as a bout with GSP, if Conor wins his next bout, it’s hard to imagine the UFC going that route. After all, following McGregor’s win over Donald Cerrone in January, Dana White said the Irish star had locked up a title shot.

Further, St-Pierre is now 38 year’s-old, he’ll turn 39 next May and he hasn’t fought since 2017. So the clock has got to be ticking on any comeback.

But, you never know. If McGregor doesn’t end up fighting in the interim or doesn’t record a memorable win, maybe the UFC will look at having GSP fight for another title (if Khabib is still the champ).

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