Georges St-Pierre adds Khamzat Chimaev to list of fighters he’d ‘hunt’ to be the best

Georges St-Pierre is not a big believer in the subjective concept of G.O.A.T.s, but that hasn’t stopped him from keeping an internal list of fighters he’d have to beat to be declared the best.

St-Pierre was on hand at UFC Vegas 58 to cheer on his teammate, Aiemann Zahabi, who also happens to be Tristar coach Firas Zahabi’s younger brother. While at inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, BT Sports’ Chamatkar Sandhu asked him who he’d fight if he were to come back.

It’s a regular question, but this time “Rush” gave a unique answer.

“Well, if I would have to come back and fight today, the three current fighters I would have choose to fight — and I won’t because I don’t want to come back — but if I would have come back, I would want to be the best,” St-Pierre said. “So, I would hunt the best guys.”

“Maybe Usman, Chimaev, and ... Khabib, if he would still be there. But, unfortunately for me and for the fans and everybody, it’s not gonna happen. Because I’m done. And I don’t miss it at all!”

Kamaru Usman and Khabib Nurmagomedov have sat on St-Pierre’s list of hypothetical “super” fights for a long time. “GSP” ended up retiring back in Feb. 2019 because UFC refused to set up a bout against Khabib. And St-Pierre has wondered publicly if the way to beat Usman might be with offensive wrestling, his specialty.

But, Khamzat Chimaev is a new addition to Georges’ list. Chimaev recently proved his mettle in a three-round war with Gilbert Burns, throwing his gameplan out the window and brawling with “Durinho” in a “Fight of the Year” contender. He’s clearly caught St-Pierre’s eye now that he’s cracked the Welterweight Top 5.

Of course, this is all just talk. While St-Pierre continues to tease some sort of low stakes return in an exhibition bout, the Canadian superstar has made it clear that his serious competition days are behind him, and he feels 1,000 percent less stress in his life because of it.