{"id":224198,"date":"2017-02-21T06:54:45","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T14:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=224198"},"modified":"2017-02-21T06:54:45","modified_gmt":"2017-02-21T14:54:45","slug":"firas-zahabi-eyes-conor-mcgregor-michael-bisping-georges-st-pierre-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/georges-st-pierre\/firas-zahabi-eyes-conor-mcgregor-michael-bisping-georges-st-pierre-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Firas Zahabi eyes Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping for Georges St-Pierre’s return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, we learned that after months of rumors, reports, negotiations and stalemates, The UFC and Georges St-Pierre had agreed on the terms for a new contract<\/a>. Given that St-Pierre is widely considered the best welterweight of all time<\/a> \u2013 and one of the best fighters\u00a0<\/em>ever,\u00a0period \u2013\u00a0<\/em>this was an undeniably exciting\u00a0development.<\/p>\n

Now that we know St-Pierre will actually be returning to the Octagon, the next big question is who he’ll fight upon his return. Though there are plenty of interesting options for him inside the welterweight division he once ruled, his coach Firas Zahabi is most intrigued by fights with UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping, and lightweight champ Conor McGregor.<\/p>\n

Zahabi explained this feeling on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMy ideal scenario, I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s still up for grabs, but I was really happy when there was a buzzing of Bisping or McGregor,\u201d Zahabi said. \u201cI thought those two would be two epic fights. One, he would go a little lower [in weight]; one, he would go a little higher. But those are really, really intriguing fights. Of course, Tyron Woodley, he\u2019s the [welterweight] champion and et cetera, but he has his fight with \u2018Wonderboy\u2019 [Thompson]. And if \u2018Wonderboy\u2019 wins, then they\u2019ll have a trilogy. And of course we don\u2019t want to fight with \u2018Wonderboy,\u2019 we go way back together.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think the welterweight title is not really something he (St-Pierre) is thinking about right now because of the current landscape, but there is always the 185-pound belt. And of course, McGregor is such a mega-star that if you put those two on a main event, I don\u2019t think that anybody in the world wouldn\u2019t watch that. I think that even non-MMA fans would watch that. But again, I don\u2019t do the match-ups, I don\u2019t do the managing, I\u2019m just talking as a trainer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

St-Pierre has not been seen in action since November of 2013, when he scored a controversial win over Johny Hendricks, defending the welterweight title in the process.<\/p>\n

Who do you want to see Georges St-Pierre fight when he returns? Sound off, PENN Nation!<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPenn.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 2\/21\/2017. <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, we learned that after months of rumors, reports, negotiations and stalemates, The UFC and Georges St-Pierre had agreed on the terms for a new contract. Given that St-Pierre is widely considered the best welterweight of all time \u2013 and one of the best fighters\u00a0ever,\u00a0period \u2013\u00a0this was an undeniably exciting\u00a0development. Now that we know […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":224202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10089,10140,10128],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFiras Zahabi eyes Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping for Georges St-Pierre's return | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ahead of Georges St-Pierre's return, his coach is hoping for fights with middleweight champ Michael Bisping, and lightweight champ Conor McGregor.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/georges-st-pierre\/firas-zahabi-eyes-conor-mcgregor-michael-bisping-georges-st-pierre-return\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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