Georges St-Pierre recalls Dana White asking him about potential Khabib Nurmagomedov fight after 'The Eagle' retired: "I found that was strange"

Georges St-Pierre revealed that Dana White once asked him about a potential fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov following the latter's retirement. St-Pierre noted that the UFC was initially uninterested in discussing the matchup.

According to 'Rush', after UFC 217 in 2017, he expressed a desire to face Nurmagomedov, but the promotion was not inclined to pursue it. St-Pierre ultimately retired afterward. He has now recounted how White approached him after Nurmagomedov's retirement in 2020 to discuss setting up their fight.

While speaking in a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, St-Pierre said:

"After Khabib retired, Dana called me and asked me if I was interested in fighting Khabib. I found that was strange. I didn't really believe it... I said, 'Let me think about it.' Then I called Ali Abdelaziz, and Ali says that wasn't true."

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He added:

"The first time we asked the UFC if they were willing to make the fight, they didn't want to do it. A few months after Khabib retired, Dana tried to make it because he knew we were both retired... I would have done it. I wouldn't have had a choice."

Check out Georges St-Pierre's comments below (8:17):

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When Georges St-Pierre previewed potential Khabib Nurmagomedov fight

Georges St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov are regarded as two of the most dominant fighters in UFC history. While Nurmagomedov retired with an unblemished record, St-Pierre experienced only two losses in his over two-decade career in the promotion.

A year ago, during a discussion on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, 'Rush' shared his thoughts on how he would fare against 'The Eagle' in a potential fight, saying:

"I think Khabib could have beat me. I'm not saying I would have beat Khabib all the time. I was confident enough to take that fight that I was thinking that if I take that fight, I'm going to beat him that day, at that particular place, at that particular time."

He added:

"That doesn't mean I would beat him all the time. I was confident, but maybe I'm wrong. I think I would've beat him because if he would've come to put pressure on me, I would've put him down and I would've been confident to try and go for it."

Check out Georges St-Pierre's comments on Khabib Nurmagomedov below (47:15):

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Edited by Nilaav Gogoi