Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St. Pierre may have officially retired from mixed martial arts, but he’s still leaving the door open for a return. Like many MMA fighters who hang up their gloves, GSP admits it’s not necessarily a permanent move. He says there’s opponent in particular who could draw him back to the Octagon.
Speaking to ESPN’s Mark Kriegel, the MMA legend from Montreal said he would come out of retirement for the “right fight,” and that’s a matchup against UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“The word retirement doesn’t mean anything right now,” GSP said. “If the right fight came along, they know where to find me.”
By “they,” GSP is clearly referring to UFC president Dana White and the promotion’s matchmakers. A GSP vs. Nurmagomedov fight was rumored to be in the works but GSP reportedly would not agree to a rematch clause in the event he won the fight. So the UFC moved on from the matchup, Nurmagomedov moved on, and GSP retired.
The interviewer asked GSP if the “right fight” he mentioned is a matchup against Nurmagomedov, the undefeated Russian champion. GSP admitted this is the one fight that would make him reconsider his retirement from MMA.
“We tried to make the right fight but it didn’t work,” GSP said, confirming previous reports the UFC was not able to come to an agreement with him to fight Nurmagomedov.
GSP was asked point blank if he would fight Nurmagomedov. He said that as long as the numbers make sense, he would come out of retirement to take the fight. It’s the only fight that he says would convince him to unretire.
“If everything is aligned, if everything contractually is good, as of now, yes I would (fight Nurmagomedov),” GSP said.
Do you think GSP will come out of retirement to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov?