Georges St-Pierre will return to competition in a submission grappling match later this year.
On Thursday, June 6, the UFC held a press conference featuring the stars of UFC 290, which takes place on Saturday night. Before the press conference began, a massive announcement was made about St-Pierre officially agreeing to headline a UFC Fight Pass Invitational grappling event in December.
Once the announcement was made, St-Pierre joined Brendan Fitzgerald on stage to discuss his decision. ‘Rush’ had this to say about why he agreed to compete in a grappling match:
“I’m always in shape. I’m in great shape. Competing in professional submission wrestling, jiu-jitsu, it’s very serious competition, but the risk are to a minimum for someone in my position. It’s great, I’m 42 years old. I felt at the end when I retired, I was training, but I like the kick of competition. I’d like to get it back, and I’d like to feel the adrenaline again.”
St-Pierre retired for the first time in November 2013 after defending the UFC welterweight title in a close split decision against Johny Hendricks. Four years later, ‘Rush’ returned for one last fight and took on then-middleweight champion Michael Bisping.
The Canadian legend submitted Bisping in the third round and permanently retired from MMA.
Georges St-Pierre discusses the possibility of his submission grappling opponent being Khabib Nurmagomedov
Georges St-Pierre has a legendary UFC resume, with wins against Sean Sherk, BJ Penn x2, Carlos Condit, Matt Hughes, and more. With that said, one fantasy matchup featuring St-Pierre continues to be discussed years after both fighters retired.
St-Pierre vs. Nurmagomedov will most likely never happen in MMA. Luckily, ‘Rush’ and ‘The Eagle’ could agree to compete in a submission grappling matchup in the future.
During a quick media interview on the UFC Hall of Fame red carpet, St-Pierre had this to say about Nurmagomedov potentially being his opponent for December:
“It could be [Khabib Nurmagomedov as my submission grappling opponent]. It could be. There’s a lot of other potential interesting matchups. Everybody has a different agenda, different schedule, and we’ll see. Khabib was not a name on the list, but I have to make sure to see who’s available.”
Since Nurmagomedov wasn’t on St-Pierre’s possible opponent’s list, fans will likely have to wait for the fantasy matchup. Only time will tell who ‘Rush’ does compete against in a submission grappling match, but regardless of the opponent, it’ll be intriguing to watch the return of one of the greatest fighters of all time.
