Georges St-Pierre’s coach reveals how dream fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and ‘Rush’ would go - “Georges has the best takedowns in history”
Georges St-Pierre’s longtime coach, John Danaher, has weighed in on how a dream fight between his star pupil and Khabib Nurmagomedov would’ve played out.
On the Lex Fridman Podcast, Danaher explained that Nurmagomedov is the same height but walks around much heavier than St-Pierre. He added that ‘The Eagle’ will enjoy a size advantage against the former two-division champion in a hypothetical matchup. The legendary grappling coach went on to break down both fighters' wrestling, ground striking, stand-up and individual strengths.
Danaher stated:
“I believe that Georges has the best takedowns in history, in the open, in the cage. Khabib was, his great strength was using the fence to facilitate takedowns. Khabib’s other great strength was not only his ability to take people down, but to keep people down for extended periods of time."
He added:
"Both of them were powerful strikers on the ground and could do terrible damage to opponents on the floor. So, they’re both very similar in that regard. Khabib was mostly a puncher from the back. Georges is mostly an elbow from the front. But both of them could lay waste to opponents with strikes on the floor. Both of them were highly competent with submissions on the ground.”
John Danaher noted that Georges St-Pierre can fight moving forward and backward, whereas Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t as refined at fighting while moving backwards. He believes the biggest difference is in their skills is in the striking realm, where St-Pierre would enjoy a huge advantage.
Danaher lauded Nurmagomedov and St-Pierre for their ground striking and submission skills, opining that both fighters are equal in these aspects. Furthermore, he suggested that the hypothetical matchup could go either way.
Watch John Danaher break down Nurmagomedov vs. St-Pierre below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov on why his fight against Georges St-Pierre failed to materialize
For many years, the MMA community was rife with speculation regarding a potential fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov, the former UFC lightweight champion, and Georges St-Pierre, the former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion.
However, Nurmagomedov retired from MMA in October 2020 following his successful title defense against Justin Gaethje. Meanwhile, St-Pierre decided to stay retired after officially hanging up his gloves in 2019.
In a recent appearance on the Full Send Podcast, Nurmagomedov explained why their fight never came to fruition. The pound-for-pound great said:
“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. 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.”
Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov on the Full Send Podcast below: