Georges St-Pierre was all in praise for Khabib Nurmagomedov after his emphatic win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 to successfully unify his lightweight title. Soon after the victory, Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the sport, closing all doors on a potential fight with Georges St-Pierre. The former Welterweight champion appeared alongside ESPN journalist Ariel Helwani and broke down Khabib’s incredible win over Gaethje.
“It was a masterful performance. As close as you get to a perfect fight against a very tough threat in Justin Gaethje. A lot of people including myself were thinking maybe Gaethje is the answer to Khabib. Maybe Justin Gaethje would be the perfect nemesis for Khabib because of his pedigree in wrestling and striking.”
Speaking about the different approaches that Khabib took in this fight, Georges St-Pierre stated that it was something that he expected out of a champion like Khabib Nurmagomedov. St-Pierre added that the fight was as close as you could get to a perfect bout, and Khabib made is look extremely easy both on the feet and on the ground against someone like Justin Gaethje.
Georges St-Pierre regards Khabib Nurmagomedov as the GOAT
Having seen Gaethje wreck havoc on former interim champion Tony Ferguson with his powerful shots, it was expected that Gaethje would be the answer to Khabib’s undefeated streak. However, after everything was said and done, it was Khabib Nurmagomedov yet again who rose to victory and managed his to retire with an undefeated streak and a record that will live for years to come.
“I want [Khabib] to go with his family in peace and have the peace of mind, not thinking about fighting. Just relax, enjoy your retirement. If one day, you want to come back and do it, our managers will talk.”
GSP speaks to @arielhelwani after #UFC254 https://t.co/OJOvznlJsD
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) October 24, 2020
“I would not say unthinkable because Khabib is undefeated and he is so good. But nobody could think that Khabib will do a performance and it seems so easy for him. It was just amazing.” St-Pierre said.
Khabib Nurmagomedov looked absolutely riveting against Justin Gaethje and showed great intent in possibly his last fight inside the Octagon. Moreover, Nurmagomedov pressured Gaethje starting from the first minute of the fight and challenged Gaethje’s often questionable cardio from the very start.
Khabib looked different, and usually a slow starter of the game, Nurmagomedov went all guns blazing against a very dangerous and a knockout artist Justin Gaethje. Reacting to his approach in this fight, former Welterweight champion and a fighter of the same league as Nurmagomedov, Georges St-Pierre had this to say about “The Eagle.”
“He beat Justin everywhere, he trapped him standing up. He trapped him with his wrestling, on the ground. Even at the end of the first round, Justin was in bad-bad position. Justin looked like he was overwhelmed. It looked like he was panicking, he did not know what to do. Traps were coming from everywhere, from under, from over, from everywhere.”
Discussion about this post