Georges St-Pierre says Khabib Nurmagomedov was only fighter he'd consider coming out of retirement for - "In terms of legacy"
According to Georges St-Pierre, the only man who could've brought him out of retirement was Khabib Nurmagomedov.
'Rush' famously returned to MMA in 2017, after years away from the cage. After lots of speculation on who St-Pierre would fight, he wound up facing then-middleweight champion Michael Bisping. At UFC 217, the Canadian submitted 'The Count' to win the gold.
However, St-Pierre only remained the middleweight champion for over a month. The Canadian quickly vacated the title due to health issues, but later showed interest in a return down at lightweight. If St-Pierre could have one more fight, he wanted to face 'The Eagle'.
Ultimately, Georges St-Pierre retired from MMA in early 2019 but remained a prominent figure in the UFC. Over the next year and a half, the Canadian showed interest in a potential return against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Ultimately, the Russian himself retired in October 2020, after submitting Justin Gaethje. Speaking on a recent edition of the Pound 4 Pound podcast alongside Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, St-Pierre discussed a potential fight with Nurmagomedov.
In the interview, the former UFC champion clarified that a fight against Nurmagomedov was the only one he would consider returning for:
"That's the only fight that would make sense in terms of legacy to comeback for... It would be a fight that everybody at the time [would want to see] because Khabib had a perfect career. Nobody ever beat him, he retired at the time... If there would be a time to make a comeback for one more fight after I retired, it was at that time."
Check out his comments below (39:00)
Could Georges St-Pierre vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov still happen?
Any hope of Georges St-Pierre vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov happening is all gone.
Over the last few years, there have been discussions over 'Rush' and 'The Eagle' returning to fighting. However, those have largely just been fans hoping for the returns of the legends.
For Khabib Nurmagomedov's part, he hasn't spoken of a comeback since retiring in 2020. While there were murmurs of the former champion returning at UFC 300, he was never even contacted about fighting at the event.
As far as Georges St-Pierre is concerned, he's not exactly preparing for a comeback either. Speaking on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, he stated:
"I always told myself, and I'm 42 years old. After I hit the 40s, it's finished. There's nothing that can make me comeback. It's finished."