Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager says that a dream fight with Georges St-Pierre can happen.
Nurmagomedov and St-Pierre have both shown interest in fighting one another. “Rush” pushed for the bout but UFC president Dana White didn’t feel comfortable giving him the opportunity. That’s because St-Pierre vacated the UFC middleweight gold just one month after winning it. White claimed a deal was in place where St-Pierre agreed to put the title on the line. This led to St-Pierre’s retirement.
Ali Abdelaziz Says Khabib vs. GSP Can Happen
Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, considers St-Pierre to be a good friend of his. Speaking to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Abdelaziz detailed what St-Pierre needs to do to make the bout with Nurmagomedov a reality (h/t South China Morning Post).
“If Georges wants this fight to really happen, he has to do three things: pick up the phone and call me, he can call Dana directly. Dana White respects Georges St-Pierre, he likes him a lot. Dana White doesn’t like too many people. Then he [St-Pierre] have to make 155 pounds, and he have to communicate.
“He have a good team, but he always can call me. Everybody can ask what happened in 2017. I communicate people, that’s it. But all the time talk about Georges wanna fight this guy – hey, send a location, like Khabib said. Send a phone number, we can make it happen.”
When Abdelaziz talks about 2017, he’s referring to St-Pierre’s middleweight title bout against Michael Bisping. Abdelaziz claims he played a role in making the fight happen after convincing UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby to speak to Dana White.
Nurmagomedov was scheduled to put his UFC lightweight gold on the line against Tony Ferguson next. “The Eagle” is currently in Russia where a travel ban has been implemented. As a result, the UFC is moving on with an interim title bout between Ferguson and Justin Gaethje for May 9.
