UFC president Dana White had plenty to say in his latest interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, but one of the most interesting things that came out of the UFC boss’ chat with the journalist was that he was open to the idea of a 39-year-old legend returning to the Octagon for a massive superfight.
In short, White revealed to Okamoto that he was all about making the long-teased Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre superfight happen if that’s what both fighters wanted to do, especially if that’s the opponent Nurmagomedov wanted for his assumed final UFC fight.
“Sure. Yeah, it’s the last fight of his career, the guy’s been great…to the company, he’s been great for the sport and I like Khabib a lot,” White said. “I would do anything Khabib wanted to do.”
You can watch Okamoto’s talk with White below.
The next day, St-Pierre seemed to waffle a little on his commitment to staying retired. The 39-year-old just said last week he wasn’t heading back into the Octagon anytime soon, but now it seems the idea of facing Nurmagomedov might be too tantalizing to turn down.
At least that’s what ESPN suggested after journalist Arie Helwani spoke with St-Pierre.
GSP recently re-affirmed his desire to stay retired, but the Khabib fight could lead to a change of heart 👀
(via @arielhelwani)
First Things First for Khabib Nurmagomedov
But before fans can start getting hyped about a potential Numagomedov vs. St-Pierre fight, the UFC lightweight champ has some work to do.
Next up for Nurmagomedov is the UFC’s interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. White said that the Nurmagomedov-Gaethje fight was a “done deal” even though it hadn’t yet been officially announced.
But White also revealed that he could envision Nurmagomedov’s final UFC fight coming against Conor McGregor in a massive superfight rematch.
In fact, White named McGregor as his best idea for Nurmagomedov’s final fight. The UFC president said about Khabib-McGregor 2, “that’s the fight to make.”
Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor via fourth-round submission at UFC 229 in October 2018 in the best-selling UFC pay-per-view event in history. McGregor has long-coveted the rematch, and White has repeatedly said that it’s something he’d like to see happen, too.
Is Georges St-Pierre Coming Back?
The 39-year-old UFC Hall of Famer is considered by most to be one of the best fighters in MMA history, but he hasn’t competed inside the UFC’s Octagon since defeating Michael Bisping at UFC 217 nearly three years go.
Still, St-Pierre has long been tied to Nurmagomedov as a possible opponent, and the retired UFC legend was even called out by UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman recently after UFC 251.
Regardless, it seems to depend on what particular day St-Pierre is asked as to whether he intends to fight in the UFC again.
Most days, it’s a hard pass. But sometimes it appears St-Pierre might actually want to compete again.
If that’s the case, a megafight against Nurmagomedov would make tons of sense.
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Dana White Open to UFC Legend’s Return