Georges St-Pierre Recalls Bizarre Dana White Phone Call Pitching Khabib Nurmagomedov Super Fight

Georges St-Pierre reveals Dana White's tactics to get him to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov after retirement.

Georges St-Pierre Recalls Bizarre Dana White Phone Call Pitching Khabib Nurmagomedov Super Fight

Georges St-Pierre talks about how Dana White tried to negotiate the Khabib Nurmagomedov fight (via X)

Throughout its history, the UFC has produced incredible fighters who are frequently considered among the greatest of all time by fans. While these legends dominated their respective weight classes, fans always dreamed of witnessing them collide in once-in-a-lifetime superfights. Among those dream matchups, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre were two highly respected fighters who unfortunately never shared the octagon.

In 2017, St-Pierre returned from retirement, captured the middleweight championship, and later vacated the title. Afterward, Dana White offered St-Pierre a potential superfight against Nurmagomedov, which genuinely intrigued the legendary former welterweight and middleweight champion. However, in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, GSP revealed White had attempted to trick him regarding the fight negotiations.

After Khabib retired, Dana called me and asked me if I was interested in fighting Khabib. I found that was strange. I didn't really believe it. I said let me think about it. Then I called Ali Abdelazizand Ali says that wasn't true. The first time we asked the UFC if they were willing to make the fight, they didn't want to do it. A few months after Khabib retired, Dana tried to make it because he knew we were both retired.
Georges St-Pierre said talking to Ariel Helwani

GSP mentioned that fighting Nurmagomedov was always a dream, but he feels happy the anticipated fight never actually happened. According to the veteran, although unfortunate for fans, from an athlete’s perspective, it was ultimately better that they never faced off. Both legendary superstars retired at the peak of their careers, and the mutual respect between these two MMA icons remains truly incredible.

For White, it was a blockbuster fight capable of selling millions of pay-per-views due to both fighters’ massive global followings. White regretted losing Nurmagomedov before fully reaching his potential and believed GSP could have been a perfect, tempting opponent. However, the fight never materialized, but surprisingly, GSP had already carefully developed a strategic game plan to potentially defeat the ‘Eagle.’

Georges St-Pierre shares his strategy to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov was extremely dangerous, known for his relentless pressure, world-class grappling, and unmatched ability to completely overwhelm his opponents. His achievements include retiring undefeated with a perfect 29-0 record, beating legends such as Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, etc. The fighter popularised Dagestani wrestling, which has since taken over the MMA scene with more and more fighters from that region.

Georges St-Pierre believes he could have beaten Khabib Nurmagomedov
Georges St-Pierre believes he could have beaten Khabib Nurmagomedov (via X)

The Dagestani’s early retirement gave birth to narratives claiming Nurmagomedov mostly fought strikers, allowing his dominant wrestling to neutralize their skills without facing versatile challengers. However, Georges St-Pierre always respected Nurmagomedov’s relentless pressure, yet he confidently believed he had developed a strategic plan to stop him.

He’s at his most dangerous when he puts you with your back against the fence because he’s a master at chain wrestling. My style is different. My style is more in the middle. So my strategy if I would have gone against Khabib would have been to keep the fight as much as I can in the middle and not be afraid to go to take him down. I think that I would have maybe been the first guy that he fought or one of the only guys that would have tried to put him down.
Georges St-Pierre via Pound-for-Pound Podcast

The ever-confident ‘Eagle’ was humble enough to accept it, and he admired GSP as a young fighter. According to the Dagestani, St-Pierre was his father’s favourite fighter, and fighting him was a huge dream. Like his idol, Nurmagomedov also inspired millions as a great ambassador of MMA.