Khabib Nurmagomedov asked one of the greatest fighters in UFC history to hold off his rumored retirement so they can fight first
- UFC legend Georges St-Pierre was rumored to announce his retirement this week.
- On Wednesday, lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov took to Instagram to challenge St-Pierre, hoping the two could fight in November in the final bout of the latter's career.
- Nurmagomedov hasn't fought since defeating Conor McGregor in October 2018, and a fight against St-Pierre would likely upset other lightweight contenders.
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov wants his shot at Georges St-Pierre before the mixed martial arts legend retires.
News broke this week that St-Pierre was planning on announcing his retirement from the sport, having last fought in 2017 to win the middleweight championship from Michael Bisping.
At 37, St-Pierre (26-2) was known to be at the tail-end of his career, and was reportedly interested in ending his fighting days with a bout against Nurmagomedov, but decided on retirement after it became clear that it wouldn't materialize, according to ESPN's Ariel Helwani.
Regardless of what negotiations happened beforehand, Nurmagomedov now appears to have taken the matter into his own hands, telling St-Pierre to hold off retirement until November so the two could fight in an Instagram post.
"Let's do it in November," Nurmagomedov wrote. "After this fight, you can retire. I grow up on your fights and have nothing but respect for you, and I believe showed that to you, George, when you were in Moscow. But, it would be honor for me to share Octagon with one of the greatest fighters of all time."
Nurmagomedov added that the fight could take place at 160 or 155 lbs., and pitched Montreal, New York, Moscow, and Abu Dhabi as potential host cities for the mega-bout.
Nurmagomedov hasn't fought since defeating Conor McGregor in October 2018, and his next bout will undoubtedly be one of the biggest draws in recent UFC memory.
Notably, Nurmagomedov left Las Vegas off the list of potential host cities for the fight, having vowed not to fight in the city again in retaliation to fines and suspensions given by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to himself and his teammates for their role in the post-fight brawl at UFC 229.
While Nurmagomedov might jump at the chance to fight one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen, a bout against St-Pierre likely wouldn't sit well with the contenders for his lightweight title, most notably Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier.