Firas Zahabi News

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.

Andrew Whitelaw - June 28, 2021

As coach of arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time, Firas Zahabi is well-placed to judge what makes a good fighter. In this case, the Canadian heaped praise on the resilience of Nate Diaz. Speaking in a Q&A on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel, Zahabi said,

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.

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.

Harry Kettle - December 23, 2019

Sometimes in mixed martial arts we can all take ourselves a little bit too seriously — which is why we need a bit of comic relief from time to time. Enter Georges St-Pierre.  St-Pierre happens to be one of the most successful fighters in the history of the sport. The Canadian is a fascinating character with many different traits, many of which are great, and some of which are a little bit odd.

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.

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.”

Cole Shelton - April 22, 2019

Max Holloway was looking to become a two division champion at UFC 236. The featherweight king was moving up in weight to take on 155-pound contender Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight championship. Ultimately, Poirier beat Holloway by unanimous decision to snap the Hawaiian’s 13-fight winning streak. Although Holloway lost, he had some good moments in the fight, but many thought the size discrepancy between he and Poirier played a huge factor. However, MMA coach, Firas Zahabi believes Dustin Poirier simply fought a smarter fight, which resulted in him getting the win.

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.

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.

Tom Taylor - January 11, 2019

Earlier this week, Tristar head coach Firas Zahabi shared his belief that, if Conor McGregor were to rematch Max Holloway in 2019, the latter would come out on top. “If I had to pick Max Holloway vs. McGregor today, I would pick Max Holloway,” Zahabi said on his podcast. “I think Holloway has grown leaps and bounds since then. In my opinion, Holloway would out-punch him, outwork him. He would do very much what Diaz did [to Conor McGregor], but more,” he said. “I think McGregor got away with a lot of stuff, like the leg kicks against Diaz, but I don’t think he’ll have that against Holloway.”

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.

Justin Golightly - January 26, 2018

Georges St-Pierre came, he saw, he conquered. The welterweight legend came back after four years removed from competition in the UFC and didn’t skip a beat. He looked amazing as he fought middleweight champion Michael Bisping and submitted him, capturing a title in a higher weight division. Understandably, fans were surprised and devastated to find out he compromised his health for the accomplishment, would vacate the belt and take yet another break from the sport. All eyes are on St-Pierre to return this year, perhaps at welterweight, but his coach doesn’t think that’s going to happen. “I honestly don’t bother [Georges St-Pierre] about [the next fight], because I know everybody is always asking him about it 24 hurs a day. When I see him, I don’t talk about the next fight. We don’t talk about it. I know what he’s thinking, he knows what I’m thinking and that’s it. We just leave it at that. Personally, I think he’ll fight again.He doesn’t know, nobody knows, but I think he’s just so hyper-competitive that eventually he’s going to wake up one day and he’s going to be like, ‘I need something. I need a challenge.'”

Russell Ess - December 26, 2017

Would a Conor McGregor and Georges St-Pierre matchup be the biggest fight in UFC history? It would certainly make for an interesting match of styles and with both fighter’s star power, it would definitely make for some massive numbers. St-Pierre’s longtime Tristar Gym coach Firas Zahabi spoke with Express Sport recently on the matchup that he says he has been interested in this fight for St-Pierre for some time.