Report: Khabib Could Fight GSP By End Of Year
Some great news arrived for Khabib Nurmagomedov fans today (Wed., May 22, 2019) when the NSAC reduced the suspensions of two of his teammates.
The reduction opened the way for Khabib, his brother Abubakar, and good friend Zubaira Tukhugov to potentially compete at September 7’s UFC 242. Khabib teased as much in his reaction to the good news. ”The Eagle’ has been rumored to unify the titles with current interim champion Dustin Poirier at the event.
While that fight isn’t official yet, it’s quickly trending that way. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported that Khabib’s manager Ali Abdelaziz told him the fight was close. More importantly, Abdelaziz said Khabib will fight legendary former champ Georges St-Pierre at the end of 2019:
“”I asked Khabib’s manager Ali Abdelaziz how close the Poirier fight in Abu Dhabi is, after NSAC shortened his teammates’ suspensions today. “We are close. Good news coming very soon … And if all goes to plan, I think Khabib will fight Georges St-Pierre at the end of the year.”
Former middleweight and welterweight champion St-Pierre famously wanted to return for a legacy fight with Khabib. But the UFC was tired of him winning and vacating belts, or they didn’t want to pay him his massive asking price. Or both.
Regardless, St-Pierre retired earlier this year as a result. However, we’ve seen that before and he’s returned. A fight with Khabib is just too good to pass up. Of course, the champ will have to get past Dustin Poirier first, and that’s no easy task.
If he does, we could see ‘The Eagle’ in one of his biggest match-ups ever later this year.
