Georges St-Pierre may be playing down the possibility, but his coach, Firas Zahabi, is continuing his calls for a historical fight with UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.
When St-Pierre inked a new deal to return to the Octagon in 2017, it was under the guise of taking fights that make an impact on the history of the sport.
He did that in his first fight back, although it took almost the entire year to accomplish. St-Pierre took the middleweight title from Michael Bisping at UFC 217 in November. The Canadian became only the fourth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two separate weight classes.
Having moved up from welterweight to challenge Bisping, St-Pierre has been hesitant to call out McGregor, indicating that he doesn’t challenge lighter fighters. Zahabi, however, believes St-Pierre vs. McGregor would leave a mark on history that would be difficult to surpass.
“I don’t think that’s crazy. I’ve been asking for that fight for over a year and a half now,” Zahabi told Express Sport on Tuesday. “I don’t think it’s a crazy fight. I think it’s a brilliant fight.”
Zahabi isn’t calling for the fight because, unlike the criticism St-Pierre received for taking the “easy fight” with Bisping, but because he thinks McGregor is a difficult challenge.
“I think Conor McGregor is a two-belt champion, two-division champ,” said Zahabi.
“He’s got the touch of death in his hands. He knows what he’s doing, he’s highly intelligent, highly captivated, he’s extremely dangerous. And I don’t think he fears anybody. So I think him and Georges would be a phenomenal fight.”
St-Pierre’s name has been attached to some of the biggest fights or events in UFC history. In addition to the blockbuster with Bisping at Madison Square Garden, St-Pierre headlined UFC 129 in 2011, which hosted nearly 56,000 fans and produced a gate of more than $12 million.
McGregor has been the UFC’s biggest draw of late, leading the promotion to several pay-per-views with million-plus buyrates. He was also part of the spectacle known as Mayweather vs. McGregor in boxing, in which the UFC had a heavy hand in promoting.
Zahabi thinks combing St-Pierre and McGregor is a match made in promotional blockbuster heaven.
“It would probably be the biggest fight in UFC history and MMA history. And that record wouldn’t be broken for ten years. So why not do it?”
