Firas Zahabi News

Harry Kettle - March 1, 2023

Tristar Gym’s Firas Zahabi has revealed that he backed out of cornering Jon Jones at the request of Georges St-Pierre. This Saturday night, Jon Jones will return to the Octagon for the first time in three years. He’ll do so in the main event of UFC 285, as he prepares to lock horns with Ciryl Gane over the UFC heavyweight championship.

Susan Cox - December 15, 2021

Firas Zahabi, the coach of UFC icon Georges St-Pierre, has voiced concern about his kids’ school curriculum in Montreal. “It’s become encouraged now to feminize men,” Zahabi said during an episode of The 3Muslims podcast (h/t r/MMAPoliticsAndCulture). “If they want to feminize their men, they can do it, but they aren’t going to feminize our men.”

Adam D Martin - August 10, 2021

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will be on PEDs for the upcoming Tyron Woodley boxing match, says renowned MMA trainer Firas Zahabi. Zahabi, the head coach at Tristar Gym, recently spoke to fight fans in a YouTube Q&A session and he was asked what he thinks about the upcoming Paul vs. Woodley boxing match, which is set to take place on August 29 in Cleveland, Ohio. According to Zahabi, it is an intriguing fight, but the one thing he thinks will play the biggest factor out of everything is that Zahabi believes that Paul will be on PEDs for the fight against Woodley.

Adam D Martin - July 16, 2021

Conor McGregor was criticized by Firas Zahabi following his death threats, saying that “I was really grossed out… he’s going after kids now.” McGregor was finished by Dustin Poirier via first-round TKO in their trilogy fight at UFC 264 last weekend. But what a lot of fans and media are talking about still is the death threats that McGregor made towards Poirier, his wife Jolie, and their child. Speaking on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel, Zahabi criticized McGregor for his “horrible” comments.

Cole Shelton - January 26, 2021

Firas Zahabi thinks when the going gets tough for Conor McGregor he gives up and believes that was the case against Dustin Poirier. In the main event of UFC 257, McGregor made his return to the Octagon to rematch Poirier. Early on in the fight, the Irishman had success and landed a solid shut that stunned Poirier. However, “The Diamond” started to leg kick McGregor and after the Irishman’s leg went “dead” Poirier went up top and knocked him out.

Cole Shelton - January 12, 2021

Firas Zahabi expects Conor McGregor to KO Dustin Poirier again. In the main event of UFC 257, McGregor is set to return to the Octagon against Poirier in a very intriguing bout. The first time they met, they fought at featherweight, and the Irishman won by first-round knockout.

Adam D Martin - October 30, 2020

MMA trainer Firas Zahabi says his pupil at Tristar Gym Georges St-Pierre and UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov “deserve their retirement.” Zahabi has been St-Pierre’s trainer for years at Tristar in Montreal and the coach has spoken openly in the past about a potential superfight between GSP and Nurmagomedov. However, in the wake of Nurmagomedov retiring following his submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, it appears that any possibility of a fight between these two legends has disappeared, at least for the time being. Zahabi agrees with that sentiment.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2020

Firas Zahabi, the head coach at Tristar MMA, believes Georges St-Pierre could make a comeback for the right fight — potentially a fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Cole Shelton - November 6, 2019

Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor have both been open to fighting each other in the future. Yet, TriStar head coach, Firas Zahabi believes that it is a very dangerous fight for the Irishman and a fight he would likely lose. Why he thinks Masvidal would beat McGregor is simple. He believes Masvidal’s size would be the difference and the former two-weight champion would need to connect early. If he doesn’t, the coach believes it would be a long night for McGregor.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2019

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has been putting work at Tristar in Montreal, Quebec. According to the gym’s head coach, Firas Zahabi, Woodley has been making strides. Speaking to MMA Junkie., Zahabi discussed his recent work with Woodley. Apparently, the former champ has been kicking convention and added some new weapons to his arsenal.

Adam Martin - August 22, 2019

The head trainer at Tristar Gym, Firas Zahabi, ripped into Conor McGregor for punching an old man at an Irish bar, calling him “an embarrassment to MMA.” A fan asked Zahabi what he thought about the recent McGregor incident, and the long-time trainer of Georges St-Pierre didn’t hold back.

Cole Shelton - April 29, 2019

After Rory MacDonald fought to a majority draw against Jon Fitch in the first round of the welterweight grand prix, his post-fight comments caused quite a stir. “I don’t know what to say,” MacDonald said post-fight. “I landed some good stuff in there, I don’t know. It’s hard to sometimes pull the trigger now. I don’t have that killer inside. It’s really hard to explain. But I hesitate a little bit now. It wasn’t my best performance.”

Tom Taylor - April 19, 2019

On April 27, in the main event of Bellator 220, Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald will attempt to defend his title against former World Series of Fighting champ Jon Fitch in the final, first-round bout of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix. Speaking to Robin Black and DAZN ahead of this fight, MacDonald’s coach Firas Zahabi, the main behind Tristar MMA, went off Jon Fitch, calling him a cheater and a coward.

Drake Riggs - February 25, 2019

At UFC 217 in November 2017, Georges St-Pierre made his return to the Octagon for the first time in four years. When doing so, he made the move up to middleweight as he captured the division’s title by finishing the champion, Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping with a third-round rear-naked choke.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2019

Georges St-Pierre has called it a career. The Canadian mixed martial arts legend officially announced his retirement from the sport at a Thursday morning press conference. Tristar head coach Firas Zahabi, who served as St-Pierre’s chief handler, feels the former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion ended his career perfectly.

Drake Riggs - January 15, 2019

“[Georges St-Pierre is] back in training as usual.” Tristar head coach Firas Zahabi told MMA Betz. “Hopefully, he’ll get back in the game in 2019… So keep an eye out for that.

Christopher Taylor - January 8, 2019

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has fired back at Tristar coach Firas Zahabi over his recent comments. The famous coach of UFC star Georges St-Pierre, Zahabi, had recently shared his thoughts on the possible outcome of a rematch between Conor McGregor and current UFC featherweight kingpin Max Holloway.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2019

During a recent Ask Me Anything session on the official Tristar YouTube channel, renowned MMA coach Firas Zahabi was asked for his thoughts on a rematch between former UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway. When the pair first met in 2013, McGregor walked away with a unanimous decision victory. If the pair were to rematch in the year 2019, however, Zahabi says he’d pick Holloway to come out on top — potentially even by stoppage.