Daniel Cormier on potential Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre booking: ‘That’s the fight’

Now that he’s dispatched of Conor McGregor, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov would seem to have a long list of options in terms of his next fight. He could rematch McGregor. He could fight Tony Ferguson or Dustin Poirier. He could welcome Ben Askren to the UFC…

Yet in the opinion of UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier, a long-time friend and training partner of Khabib Nurmagomedov, there’s currently only one fight to make for the undefeated Russian champion: a showdown with former welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

“Khabib has a number of options,” Cormier said recently on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show (transcript via MMA Fighting). “Tony is great. I don’t dislike Tony Ferguson at all. I think he’s a phenomenal fighter, this dude’s a beast. I think he’s the tougher matchup for Khabib but I say do Khabib vs. Georges St-Pierre. That’s the fight. It’s big.”

“Matchup wise, Tony, tough, GSP, super tough; but the history and the matchup of a GSP fight, at 165. . .” Cormier added. “It doesn’t have to be for a belt. This is a big enough fight that it doesn’t have to be for a title. Make it a catchweight fight. When you’ve got names like Khabib and Georges, it can be for anything. Let those guys fight.”

So who does Daniel Cormier think will win if Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre fight? Well, he’s picking his training partner Nurmagomedov, but he doesn’t expect it to be easy.

“Khabib wins but this is his closest fight ever because you don’t just control Georges St-Pierre,” Cormier said. “But you’re asking me a loaded question because I’m never gonna say Khabib’s gonna lose.

“I think it’s a five-round decision. You don’t finish Georges St-Pierre, unless you are Matt Serra.”

Do you think Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. George St-Pierre is the fight to make?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/29/2018.