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A UFC “dream fight is closer than ever to becoming reality” according to a couple of the sport’s top insiders. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani and retired UFC superstar Chael Sonnen discussed the potential superfight between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and retired Hall of Fame champ Georges St-Pierre during a recent episode of ESPN’s “Ariel and The Bad Guy”.
“Does Khabib fight…the great Georges St-Pierre before its all said and done?” Helwani asked.
“I think we’re a lot more likely to get that…,” Sonnen said.
You can watch the two stalwart insiders discuss the megafight below.
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Khabib-GSP Would Be Huge Superfight
Sonnen called the potential Khabib-GSP superfight in April 2020 one of the “biggest fights” that could “possibly be imagined” and said the only thing that held up the fight from happening before now was that UFC president Dana White did not want to put his lightweight champion in a risky fight against St-Pierre that might leave the company without a 155-pound champ after it was over.
St-Pierre had already done that to the company before when he came back after four years away from the sport to grab the UFC middleweight title against Michael Bisping at UFC 217 in 2017.
St-Pierre won the fight but retired again right after it was over. So the UFC was left with a vacant title at 185.
But with Nurmagomedov considering April 2020 as his final fight date, Sonnen now believes there’s nothing left standing in the way of the megafight becoming a reality.
UFC 255: Khabib-Gaethje Happens First
The undefeated 31-year-old dynamo Nurmagomedov is set to take on interim lightweight champ Justin Gaethje in his next fight on October 24 at UFC 255.
But it also seems like 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 last week in which Nurmagomedov laid out his vision of facing St-Pierre in April 2020.
🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐
While the 39-year-old St-Pierre had just revealed his commitment to staying retired after being called out by UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, the MMA legend did at least seem open to the idea of facing Nurmagomedov next year when Helwani asked him about it.
“Damn! Just when I thought I had peace of mind…” St-Pierre said per Helwani.
GSP recently re-affirmed his desire to stay retired, but the Khabib fight could lead to a change of heart 👀
(via @arielhelwani)
Now two of the greatest and most accomplished UFC superstars in history could be on their way to making one of the biggest fights ever into a reality.
Justin Gaethje Could Spoil UFC’s Plan for Massive Superfight
Regardless, before UFC fans can start getting hyped about a battle between two of the best MMA fighters ever, Nurmagomedov has some work to do at UFC 255 on October 24.
In facing the UFC’s interim lightweight champ Justin Gaethje, Nurmagomedov is taking on one of the hottest fighters in the sport.
The American slugger stepped in on short notice to defeat Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 to grab UFC gold for the first time in his career and clearly has aims on spoiling the Khabib-GSP party by nabbing the undisputed lightweight title at 155 pounds.
💵 @Justin_Gaethje‘s Bonus Career:
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Gaethje isn’t favored by oddsmakers to take Khabib’s title at UFC 255, but that crew said the same about Gaethje’s chances against Ferguson at UFC 249.
Gaethje is a live dog and totally capable of handing Nurmagomedov the first loss of his MMA career.
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UFC Superfight ‘Closer Than Ever to Becoming a Reality’