Georges St-Pierre explains why he wanted to be the first to beat ‘perfect fighter’ Khabib Nurmagomedov

For the longest time, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight and Middleweight champion, Georges St-Pierre, was trying his hardest to lock down a fight against current Lightweight kingpin, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

But after his attempts fell on deaf ears, “Rush” opted to retire from mixed martial arts (MMA) once and for all. So what was so intriguing about facing “The Eagle,” other than another big payday? For St-Pierre, it was about trying to make history by becoming the first man to ever defeat the “perfect” fighting machine out of Dagestan.

“Khabib was very exciting for me because, for a fighter, a fighter doesn’t think like a normal person,” St-Pierre said while speaking on the MMA TRUFAN podcast (via BJPenn.com).

“A fighter always wants to fight a guy who seems invincible, a guy who seems like the perfect fighter, who is unbeatable. He has an aura of invincibility. So, that means if I do it I’ll be the first to have ever done it. It’s not a question of money.

“Yeah, the money is there but it’s not a question of money first,” he continued. “It’s a question of glory, of self accomplishment, of making it in a way that you’ll be in history forever, for myself.”

When one of the top pound-for-pound best fighters of all time gives you that kind of praise, you know you are doing something right. And Nurmagomedov has been doing it his entire career. He has gone 28-0 as a professional (12-0 for UFC), and hasn’t really been in a whole lot of trouble inside the Octagon other than his tough bout against Gleison Tibau at UFC 148.

While a fight between the two men would have been a box office bonanza, St-Pierre drew the ire of UFC President Dana White after he left him high-and-dry following his championship win over Michael Bisping.

And though White did sort of change his tune a few months later, talks never actually took place about the potential title fight. For now, “Rush” is happily-retired and Nurmagomedov is still sitting on top of the 155-pound mountain.

He was set to defend his strap against Justin Gaethje at UFC 253 on Sept. 19, 2020, but Khabib is currently taking time to mourn the passing of his father. And while there are some close to him who say he will return in 2020, others aren’t too sure he will fight again this year.

If ever again ...