Georges St-Pierre cedes next title lightweight shot to Tony Ferguson

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has been campaigning for a fight with former UFC welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre for quite awhile. Nurmagomedov’s manager has even claimed St-Pierre is the next opponent in line for Nurmagomedov.

Given that streaking UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson has irrefutably earned a lightweight title shot, talk of a potential Nurmagomedov vs. St-Pierre fight has been met with quite a bit of backlash. The good news for fans who want to see Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson next, however, is that St-Pierre himself believes this is the way it should happen.

”100% Tony Ferguson,” St-Pierre told Helen Yee when asked who should be next for Khabib Nurmagomedov (via MMA Mania). “And it’s going to be a good fight. I’m a big fan. I don’t know [who’ll win]. It all depends who’s going to fight their fight. Tony likes a dirty fight with elbows and knees, that’s his style. Khabib likes to control guys when he’s on the floor with his top game. It all depends how it goes down, styles make fights and it’s hard to predict.”

St-Pierre, of course, is currently retired, and would have to re-enter the United States Anti-Doping Agency testing pool before competing again. The Canadian MMA legend says he’s enjoying his retirement and has no imminent plans to return to the cage.

”I’m retired, and retired for a reason,” St-Pierre said. “If anything comes up, the UFC knows where to find me but right now I’m good where I’m at. I can’t complain, life is beautiful.”

When discussing a possible St-Pierre comeback, fans often point to the fact that he still trains regularly at his long-time gym in Montreal, Quebec. St-Pierre, however, is encouraging fans not to read too much into his continued training.

”I’m always training,” he said. “I’m not training because I have a fight, I’m training because I love to train, I love to be in shape. And I keep learning as a martial artist. And I like to keep busy.”

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/13/2019.