Georges St-Pierre would be honored to fight Conor McGregor, but won't challenge smaller guy

Ever since Georges St-Pierre made his return to MMA competition official earlier this year, the fantasy matchmaking around the former longtime UFC welterweight champion hasn’t stopped.

One of the names that has come up most prominently as a future potential opponent for St-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC) is UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC). They’re two of the biggest stars in the sport’s history, and a matchup between them would likely do extraordinary business for the UFC.

St-Pierre currently is occupied with a scheduled UFC 217 middleweight title headliner with champion Michael Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC), which takes place Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York City and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. McGregor, meanwhile, is likely on his way back to the octagon to defend his 155-pound title after losing a boxing match to Floyd Mayweather in August.

If St-Pierre were to beat Bisping at UFC 217, he would be champion two weight classes above McGregor. They could meet in the middle if a fight ever were to come together, but St-Pierre said he doesn’t see it as realistic, mainly because he has no desire to chase a smaller fighter.

“We don’t compete in the same weight class,” St-Pierre told ESPN.com prior to a recent UFC 217 news conference in Las Vegas. “Everything is possible. Everybody is targeting Conor McGregor because he’s the money fight. But I don’t challenge guys who compete in lower weight classes. For me, I don’t do that. I’m going up to fight Michael Bisping now.”

If St-Pierre beats Bisping to become middleweight champion, “Rush” has said he’s contractually obligated to fight interim champ Robert Whittaker (19-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) next. More radical changes of direction have happened in the past, but St-Pierre said he’s not going to attempt to move mountains for McGregor.

Although St-Pierre said he would feel privileged to participate in a fight between MMA superstars, he insisted McGregor’s name is nowhere on his hit list and doesn’t expect that to change.

“He’s an amazing fighter and it would be an amazing honor,” St-Pierre said. “I don’t know what to say. If the fans want it and he wants and whoever wants it, maybe it will happen. But right now, I’m focused on Bisping.

For more on UFC 217, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.