Khabib Nurmagomedov Hails Georges St-Pierre: ‘The Greatest Fighter In UFC History’

Khabib Nurmagomedov has made no secret ab0ut the fact that he wants to fight Georges St-Pierre, but the Russian wants it to be known that it’s not because he dislikes the Canadian.

Nurmagomedov won the UFC lightweight title earlier this month at UFC 223 when he defeated Al Iaquinta via a unanimous decision. Speaking after the bout, Nurmagomedov wasted little time calling out St-Pierre for a showdown later this year, but it took only a few hours for the Canadian to knock back the challenge via Ariel Helwani.

Speaking at a Russia University Q&A today, Nurmagomedov spoke of his great respect for St-Pierre and explained that he’d met him earlier this year in Russia.

“The last time I saw him was a hotel in Moscow where I was staying,” Nurmagomedov said via a translator.

“He was sitting in a restaurant on the ground floor and I was making my way out.

“I approached him from the back and grabbed his neck and started strangling him [in a playful way].

“So we had a talk, a nice talk actually. I think he’s the greatest fighter in the history of the UFC.”

Whilst Nurmagomedov clearly respects St-Pierre, his desire to fight him is apparently just as strong. The Russian went on to explain that his urge to fight the former UFC welterweight and middleweight is purely to do with competition and that he has no bad feelings towards him.

“It’s competition and I’d love to fight and beat him,” Nurmagomedov said.

“Not because he’s a bad guy, it’s just that the way sports are.”

You can watch the full Q&A here: