Khabib Nurmagomedov explains why super-fight against Georges St-Pierre never came to fruition
Khabib Nurmagomedov has spoken about a potential super-fight against Georges St-Pierre and why it never happened.
For years now there's been an ongoing debate surrounding the term "greatest of all time" in mixed martial arts. Jon Jones and Anderson Silva are two familiar names who feature in the discussion, but beyond that, Georges St-Pierre tends to be in the running more often than not.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is also a popular figure in the hearts of hardcore MMA fans. Thus, when they were both active, there was a lot of talk about whether they would ever meet inside the octagon.
At various points in time it seemed to be on the verge of happening but never did, and now Khabib has explained why. 'The Eagle' first said that if he wanted to pick someone to fight against it would be 'Rush' on the Full Send podcast.
“Fighting with him, I know it’s never gonna happen but honestly, if I had the chance to fight someone, it’s gonna be GSP.”
'The Eagle' then brought up how his prime in MMA did not coincide with GSP's, which did not help in setting up the super-fight:
“When I was on top, and it was my prime time, it was not his prime time. When was it, 2013 [GSP’s hiatus started], then after four years he only came back and fought Michael Bisping. Almost ten years, I think, his time has finished. My opinion his prime time was 2010, 2011. By 2012 or 2013, it was not his time - remember when he fight with Johny Hendricks? By this time I feel, he wasn’t enjoying it inside the cage, he’s not hungry anymore. I don’t know about his feeling, this is what I feel.”
Watch 'The Eagle' discuss several topics on the Full Send podcast here:
What's next for Khabib Nurmagomedov?
While his unbeaten 29-0 record will likely stand the test of time, 'The Eagle' isn't sitting back and resting on what he's already achieved. Instead, he's going in search of new adventures, which includes Eagle FC and his coaching.
The aforementioned interview took place as part of press for Eagle FC and their push into the United States, with Nurmagomedov leading the charge in that regard.
It's unlikely that he will return to active competition, even in search of 30-0. At the same time, fans will never stop dreaming about who his comeback fight would be against.