As Georges St-Pierre returns to professional mixed martial arts (MMA), it’s only natural to spark conversation about the Canadian superstar taking on the almighty Conor McGregor, After all, GSP was one of the biggest promotional tickets before stepping away from the sport in 2013. His return will only fuel McGregor’s quest at 170 pounds as he attempts to claim his third Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title. Former UFC fighter and current FOX analyst Kenny Florian, believes that a McGregor vs. St-Pierre matchup would be the biggest fight of all time.
“Without a doubt, that’s the biggest fight in UFC history right there,” said Florian during a recent edition of the Anik and Florian podcast (transcribed by Bloody Elbow). “You look at Georges St-Pierre and what he brings to the table. He was pretty consistent at around one million pay-per-view buys is what I was hearing. And we know what Conor McGregor is bringing in, he’s past that right now. Imagine a 2 million buy pay-per-view in the UFC between those two. I think that’s a very realistic thing. And with the way the UFC has been doing things, they haven’t been waiting around. They have been trying to go for the big game kill right away. They been trying to put together the biggest fights they can, as quickly as possible. That might be the fight. I would love to see it.
“It’s a fascinating fight. I don’t know if we are going see it right off the bat, but we just might. That might be a nice consolation prize for Conor McGregor if he can’t get Mayweather.”
With McGregor pulling every string possible to land a superfight opposite boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr., fight fans would presumably have to wait deep into 2018 to see the Irishman take on GSP. Even if McGregor vs. Mayweather falls through like many believe it will, “Notorious” must defend his lightweight title against the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson, which is scheduled to go down at UFC 209 on Mar. 4.
Fight fans obviously don’t want to wait for such a historic bout, but the time frame could allow GSP to work his way back into title contention at 170 pounds and possibly recapture a title he never lost in order to put it on the line opposite McGregor.
Either way, the return of “Rush” throws yet another option on the table for the shot-calling lightweight king.