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UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov already has his next fight lined up. The undefeated 31-year-old Russian dynamo is set to take on interim lightweight champ Justin Gaethje on October 24 at UFC 255. But it also seems the “The Eagle” is already thinking about who he wants to get his hands on after that.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto shared a screenshot from the fighter’s Instagram page on Wednesday in which Nurmagomedov lays out his vision.
🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐
So it looks like the champ is down for an intergenerational superfight against retired Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre in April.
Georges St-Pierre Seems Interested in Facing Khabib Nurmagomedov
While St-Pierre had recently revealed a commitment to staying retired after being called out by UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, the 39-year-old seemed to be open to the idea of facing Nurmagomedov after learning it was still on the table.
“Damn! Just when I thought I had peace of mind…” St-Pierre said.
GSP recently re-affirmed his desire to stay retired, but the Khabib fight could lead to a change of heart 👀
(via @arielhelwani)
On top of that, UFC president Dana White revealed earlier this week that he’d be down for making that superfight happen if that’s what Nurmagomedov had in mind, especially if it was the lightweight king’s 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.”
Oddsmakers have even started taking bets on the potential superfight.
Per BT Sport’s Chamaktar Sandhu, Nurmagomedov, -200, opened as the favorite over St-Pierre, +170.
For those of you who are hopeful of a Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre fight happening and want to put an early wager down 💰
Khabib Nurmagomedov -200 (1/2)
Georges St. Pierre +170 (17/10)
(odds via @betonline_ag)
Khabib Nurmagomedov Faces Huge Test at UFC 255
But before fans can start getting hyped about a potential Nurmagomedov vs. St-Pierre superfight, the UFC lightweight champion has a huge test at UFC 255 on October 24.
Next up for Nurmagomedov is the UFC’s interim lightweight champ Justin Gaethje, so don’t expect GSP to jump over Gaethje for the title shot.
Earlier this week, White told ESPN that the Nurmagomedov-Gaethje fight was a “done deal” and the UFC officially announced the fight soon after that.
Gaethje is red hot at the present. The American stepped in on short notice to defeat Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 to grab UFC gold for the first time and could be on his way to a hostile 155-pound takeover.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Other Big Test
Nurmagomedov’s other big test will be turning down the assumed superfight rematch that would probably net him the most money. That will especially be difficult to do if the Russian wants to retire after his next fight.
Because during that same chat with ESPN, White also revealed that he could envision Nurmagomedov facing Conor McGregor in a massive superfight rematch.
In fact, White named McGregor as his best idea for Nurmagomedov’s presumed final fight in April 2020 assuming he remains undefeated against Gaethje at UFC 255 in October.
The UFC president said about Khabib-McGregor 2, “that’s the fight to make.”
Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018 in the best-selling UFC pay-per-view event ever.
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