When Georges St-Pierre addressed Leon Edwards, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Kamaru Usman matchups: "Like a chess game"
In late 2022, Georges St-Pierre took part in a Q&A and touched on hypothetical matchups with reigning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, former lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov, and ex-welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman.
While it is highly unlikely that 'GSP' will ever return to the octagon, especially at 43 years old and with seven years of cage rust, these fantasy clashes remain points of interest for many in the MMA fandom. St-Pierre seems to understand why, believing that those bouts would be interesting puzzles for him to solve.
So, when a fan asked him who he believes would have posed the most difficult challenge for him, the all-time great answered in typical fashion:
"Who would have given me the best fight? It's hard because they all have great qualities. They are all very different. Leon [Edwards] would have given me a lot of trouble because he is very smart, he would have been like a chess game, he would have been like a very hard puzzle to solve, because it would be a very tactical fight."
While he believed Edwards would have provided him with the most tactically demanding challenge, he also recognized the different problems he would have faced against Usman and Nurmagomedov:
"Kamaru [Usman] is very physical, very athletic. He's a beast, he's strong, he hits very hard, he's a great wrestler. It would be very tough physically. Very demanding. Khabib [Nurmagomedov] is a legend in terms of his knowledge, his experience. He's got so many tools in his bag, so he would be a fight that I wouldn't know how it would have turned out. So, I don't know. It's not the best fighter that wins the fight. It's the fighter that fights the best the night of the fight."
Check out Georges St-Pierre praising Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman, and Khabib Nurmagomedov (20:20):
Usman has spent the second half of his career chasing St-Pierre's legacy but fell short of matching his title defense record. Meanwhile, Edwards is still in the infancy of his welterweight title reign.
Georges St-Pierre was previously linked to a matchup with Khabib Nurmagomedov
While Georges St-Pierre never pursued fights with either Leon Edwards or Kamaru Usman, the same cannot be said for Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Canadian great sought a lightweight title fight with the unbeaten Dagestani in pursuit of three-division championship status.
While 'The Eagle' welcomed the bout, the UFC brass were reportedly disinterested in the matchup. Although the promotion tried to book the bout years later, it was too little too late as Nurmagomedov had already retired.