Tristar Gym’s Firas Zahabi appeared as a guest on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” at MMAFighting.com and spoke with Ariel Helwani about the reason why Georges St-Pierre was in attendance at the UFC 196 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 5th.
According to Zahabi, GSP was at the show to support a teammate and because the event originally called for Conor McGregor to challenge Rafael Dos Anjos for the UFC Lightweight title in an attempt to become the first-ever man in UFC history to hold two belts in two weight divisions simaltaneously. Because St-Pierre is still a fan of the sport, Zahabi claimed he wanted to be there to witness history.
While GSP is still a fan at heart, he is also still a competitor and as Zahabi explains, it would have been cool to see either Conor McGregor or Nate Diaz call out GSP after their fight at UFC 196.
“If McGregor had won [against Nate Diaz at UFC 196], McGregor is just such a, he’s just such a guy, he stirs the pot, obviously, like nobody else. It could have been crazy if he called out Georges. It could have been crazy if Nate called out Georges,” said Zahabi.
Zahabi continued, “Anything could have been motivating to Georges. I think it could have happened. Nothing happened. He went in there just to watch the fights. McGregor was supposed to fight [UFC lightweight champion Rafael] dos Anjos, don’t forget. He was supposed to be the first man to carry two belts if he wins. So Georges wanted to be there for that momentous occasion, not necessarily just for Conor, but also [Tristar teammate] Nordine [Taleb] was fighting. We talked about going to the show, plus maybe McGregor might win two titles, that’ll be huge…It’s a huge thing when somebody tries to win outside of his category. We’re fans of the sport as well.”
While GSP no doubt enjoyed his experience as a spectator at the event, according to Zahabi, he also “felt that feeling again” when he got close to the Octagon in Las Vegas.
“He told me, he did tell me when he was close to the Octagon, he felt that feeling again,” Zahabi said. “I personally believe he has a lot of fight left in him. He’s phenomenal. The guy is still an incredible athlete, as usual. When he does come to training – he was in training today – his performances are amazing.
“He’s still the best in the world, in my opinion. If he chooses, if he feels like going into the Octagon, it’s if he has the right motivation, if he has that feeling, I think he’ll show the world he’s still the best.”
