Khabib Nurmagomedov Wants Georges St-Pierre Fight In Canada Or Russia

While he believes Tony Ferguson is next in line to challenge for the title, Khabib Nurmagomedov still wants to face Georges St-Pierre.

Nurmagomedov will attempt to unify the lightweight title when he faces interim champion Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 242 on September 7. Most people, including Nurmagomedov, seem to agree that Ferguson should face the winner.

However, “The Eagle” hasn’t given up hope on a fight with St-Pierre. He was pushing for a super fight with the former welterweight champion earlier this year. In the end, it never came to fruition with “GSP” officially announcing his retirement.

But speaking in a recent interview with ESPN, Nurmagomedov spoke of how it could happen in a stadium in Russia or Canada:

“Can you imagine if this happened in Montreal,” he said (via MiddleEasy). “55,000 [seats] — like a stadium. Or in Moscow, 80,000 at a big stadium in Moscow. I think this fight has to happen in Canada or Russia. We can sell out a stadium, 100%.”

Nurmagomedov Explains Why He Wants “GSP”

As for why he hasn’t given up on a fight with St-Pierre, it’s very simple — he’s the biggest star Nurmagomedov is interested in facing:

“Georges St-Pierre has big name, I am the champion,” he explained. “Why not? We can do whatever we want. This is UFC, this is not NBA or soccer. This is UFC. We can do whatever we want because of the two names — me vs. Georges St-Pierre. We can do this. Dustin Poirier or Tony Ferguson, they can’t do this.

“Right now, this is my time. I can do this. If a guy builds a name and becomes a very big star, they can do this, like Conor did with Mayweather. When you have a big name, when your opponent have a big name, you guys are very popular, you guys can do whatever you want.”

What do you make of Nurmagomedov’s comments?