Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, who also held gold at 185 pounds, is looking to add a third belt to his collection by dropping to lightweight (as promised) and fighting the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor.
“The Eagle” makes his very first title defense against “Notorious” at the upcoming UFC 229 mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sat., Oct. 6, 2018 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada (more on that here).
“I would be interested in that fight,” St-Pierre said during his international tour (via Submission Radio). “That’s a win-win situation. It’s a legacy upgrade and it’s good money. It’s gonna be a big fight. Yeah, however, I fought at 170, I relinquished the title and I fought at 185, I relinquished the title. I don’t think the UFC will let me fight for the title at 155. They will be afraid I’ll relinquish and I’ll leave the division in ruins again.”
St-Pierre knocked the middleweight division off its axis by winning the 185-pound strap from Michael Bisping last November, then relinquishing said title to deal with the aftereffects of making such a huge jump in weight.
Prior to that, “Rush” spent several years on the sidelines after surrendering his welterweight title to once again focus on his physical and mental health. That might leave the promotion a bit weary of booking him for yet another crack at the crown when there’s a strong chance he’ll bail after cashing his check.
Because that’s what “rich pricks do” according to this guy.
“From my perspective it’s a very winning situation, for the UFC it’s a big risk for them,” St. Pierre said. “155, I know Khabib, I’ve met Khabib and Khabib is actually bigger than me when he’s off-season. He’s a big guy. He walks around 195. Right now I’m less than 185. I’m 183, 185. I’ve always been like that, my natural fit weight. But yeah, 155, I think I could make it.”
St-Pierre insists he would still take the fight at welterweight as a “legacy fight” (despite this previous claim) if the promotion balked at his offer to compete for the lightweight belt. And from a financial standpoint, there’s probably no bigger fight — monetarily speaking — for Nurmagomedov or McGregor at 155 pounds.
And it’s not like UFC gives a shit about divisional integrity these days anyway.
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