MMA Fantasy: Would Georges St-Pierre have prevailed over Khabib Nurmagomedov in their prime?
Georges St-Pierre vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the greatest fights in MMA history that never happened. While there could be many practical difficulties, the main reason why this fight could never take place was that the peak of their activity level, physical abilities, and competitive achievements came at completely different points in time.
While St-Pierre took a break from sport in 2013 after a legendary title reign, Nurmagomedov did his best work from mid-to-late 2010s. Despite the differences, both men have shown interest in competing against each other.
Khabib has been regarded as one of the most dominant fighters in history. Barring the exception of a stray punch from Michael Johnson and some resistance offered by Conor McGregor in Round 3 of their fight, 'The Eagle' has faced little to no adversity in his 29-fight unbeaten MMA career. This begs the question - how would an MMA great like St-Pierre fare against the unsolved puzzle of Khabib?
For the uninitiated, Khabib acquainted Western combat sports fans with the Dagestani chain wrestling style. Unlike the explosive form of Greco-Roman or Freestyle wrestling, the Dagestani style is considered more energy-efficient, allowing the wrestler to put relentless pressure on his opponent without getting exhausted in a fight.
The sport of MMA has yet to catch up with this style of fighting and come up with an effective counter to nullify it. While it might be a safe bet to pick Khabib to win the fantasy matchup, things could go wrong for 'The Eagle' if he fought a prime 'GSP'.
St-Pierre came into the UFC as a Karate fighter with a fan-friendly fighting style. However, he molded himself into one of the most dominant wrestlers in the sport's history. This transformation contributed tremendously toward his performance longevity and continued success against the most elite fighters of his generation.
St-Pierre's progression as a fighter stands testimony to the fact that he had the correct approach to evolve consistently and prepare himself for the most difficult of challenges - including Khabib.
A stark difference between Khabib and St-Pierre's career trajectories is that 'Rush' successfully competed against three generations of elite fighters. Meanwhile, most of Khabib's opponents were older or belonged to his generation. It is no secret that the greatest threat to a dominant champion comes from the next generation and it wouldn't be an overstatement to say that St-Pierre has a proven track record in this area.
That said, Khabib has shown incredible mental fortitude and dominated his opponents in the most adverse situations. His success goes far beyond the confines of technical skills, which might negate everything that St-Pierre brought to the table.
To answer the question, nobody can say with certainty if St-Pierre would have prevailed over Khabib Nurmagomedov in his prime. However, if there was one fighter with the fight IQ, physical attributes, skill set, and coaching staff to decode the Dagestani fighting style and lay out a blueprint to fight effectively against it, it was Georges St-Pierre.
When Georges St-Pierre explained how he would plan a strategy to beat Khabib Nurmagomedov in a fight
While Khabib Nurmagomedov had shown interest in competing against Georges St-Pierre in his 30th professional MMA fight, his retirement from competition in October 2020 permanently ended the prospects of this fight taking place.
During his appearance on Lex Fridman's podcast in 2021, St-Pierre opened his cards and explained how he would approach a fight against Khabib if it had happened:
"Khabib is very good against the fence. I would have needed to establish a game plan. What I needed to do was take the center of the octagon right away. Use a lot of fakes and feints, keep the fight all the way out and all the way in. When I say all the way in, what I mean is when he closes the gap, use my proactive and reactive takedown and perhaps use my superhero explosivity to put him down."
St-Pierre explained that his wrestling was heavily influenced by the attributes he gained from his Karate background and it was unlike traditional variations of wrestling. He then highlighted the differentiating factor for him against Khabib:
"I would not have been afraid of his wrestling. I would have been the instigator. I would have forced the fight forward. That's how I would have approached that fight."
Watch Georges St-Pierre discuss the fight below (1:06):