UFC legend Georges St-Pierre tuned in to watch Khabib Nurmagomedov successfully defend his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
The highly anticipated UFC lightweight title unification bout headlined today’s per-per-view fight card on Yas Island.
While many were expecting Khabib vs. Gaethje to result in one of the greatest fights of all-time, that simply was not the case. Instead, ‘The Eagle’ scored yet another dominant win today at UFC 254, putting Gaethje to sleep in the second round of their contest with a triangle choke.
Immediately following the win, many fans and analysts were curious to see if Khabib Nurmagomedov would proceed to callout Georges St-Pierre.
‘The Eagle’ had previously stated that if he emerged victorious against Gaethje, the only fight that would interest him was one with Georges St-Pierre.
Unfortunately for fight fans, Khabib did not end up calling out ‘GSP’ in his post-fight speech. Instead, the undefeated Russian announced his retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts, citing a promise he made to his mother.
Shortly after Khabib’s shocking retirement announcement, MMA legend Georges St-Pierre spoke with ESPN where he shared his thoughts on Nurmagomedov’s decision.
"What we do is a sport. This goes beyond sport, goes to the human side and I just wish him and his family the best."@GeorgesStPierre tells @arielhelwani he is "very happy" for Khabib in retirement and "would never dare" ask him to stick around. pic.twitter.com/U2l0jP17Zl
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 24, 2020
“Maybe normally I would,” St-Pierre said when asked if he would request Khabib to stick around. “But, because of the circumstances, I would never dare to do that. I mean I am not in his shoes. He’s going through a tough time becuase his father pass away and he needs time to mourn. And so because I respect Khabib a lot, what we do is a sport. But this goes beyond sport to the human side and I just want to wish him and his family the best.”
Do you think we will ever see a future fight between MMA legends Georges St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on October 24, 2020