Freddie Roach claims Georges St-Pierre is hoping to fight Conor McGregor on the third and final fight of his new three-fight deal with the UFC.
Legendary boxing trainer Roach has been an integral part of Georges St-Pierre’s striking game for years. The Wild Card Gym owner was also a key figure in the protracted negotiations between “Rush” and the UFC, owing in part to Roach’s friendship with WME-IMG co-CEO Ari Emanuel.
The 57-Massachussets native, who will be in St-Pierre’s corner for his middleweight title fight against champion Michael Bisping, recently spoke to Fight Hub TV. “Master Roach” discussed the upcoming bout with the Brit, and brought up the prospect of fighting another European UFC champion: Ireland’s lightweight king, Conor McGregor:
“That was the fight [bisping] that was offered to us, through Dana [White],” Roach said.“[White asked us] ‘do you want him?’ And we all thought about it, and we all said yes.”
“With the last fight, we’re hoping it to be [Conor] McGregor.”
While GSP’s next fight is set at middleweight, it is possible that the former welterweight champion could attempt to launch an effort to become the first three-weight world champion in the world should he beat Bisping.
Given that Conor McGregor is current champion of the lightweight division, however, a drop to 155-pounds for the Canadian would represent a considerable weight cut for “Rush”. Roach did not indicate what weight class the Tri-Star Gym pupil was targeting in a potential match-up with McGregor but implied that a catchweight bout could be an idea. Should a fight with “The Notorious” be fought at a midpoint, no title would be on the line for either man:
“Who wouldn’t want that fight? I mean, it’s a big fight,” added Roach. “We’d have to maybe cut weight, meet in the middle somewhere, but there’s long negotiations [to] still happen, of course. But, who wouldn’t want that fight?”
Bisping and “GSP” are still yet to agree on a formal date for their match-up.
