Skim MMA Twitter once. We dare you. Chances are, fans will stumble upon the age-old debate that splits the timeline in half. Who is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time? The same names virtually pop up in every conversation. Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, and Georges St Pierre. These competitors virtually had no holes in their game. Additionally, GSP has recently stated that current UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is the perfect fighter.
Mutual Respect Between Greats
On multiple occasions, both Nurmagomedov and St Pierre have expressed a desire to fight each other. However, there’s no ill-intent or malice behind those desires. Instead, both men are motivated by the essence of martial arts as well as building a legacy. In the case of GSP and Khabib, it’s more so maintaining a legacy and building upon it.
One way would be for them to fight. For Georges, it would mean taking out a world champion with an unblemished record. For Khabib, it would be going up a weight class to defeat what many consider to the greatest welterweight of all time, as well as one of the greatest fighters.
St Pierre Says Khabib Seems Like the Perfect Fighter
Recently, St Pierre appeared on a podcast. During his time on the show, he spoke about a matchup against Khabib and why it would be exciting.
“Khabib was very exciting for me because, for a fighter, a fighter doesn’t think like a normal person. “A fighter always wants to fight a guy who seems invincible, a guy who seems like the perfect fighter, who is unbeatable,” said GSP.
“He has an aura of invincibility. So, that means if I do it I’ll be the first to have ever done it. It’s not a question of money. Yeah, the money is there but it’s not a question of money first. It’s a question of glory, of self-accomplishment, of making it in a way that you’ll be in history forever, for myself.”
A Doubtful Matchup
The potential bout has been teased ever since Khabib captured the lightweight title. However, no documents were ever signed to make the match official. Fans could assume that the idea of a match between both fighters is long gone. Now, Khabib has a host of hungry contenders in the lightweight division. While St Pierre seems to be enjoying retirement fruitfully.
A fan could always dream though.
