UFC 254: Georges St-Pierre laments Khabib retirement but calls for respect amid family tragedy

Former two-weight UFC champion St Pierre calls Khabib’s win over Gaethje ‘as close as you can get to perfect’

‘As a competitor, I would’ve liked to have an agreement to fight him, but as a human being I’m very happy for him’

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Georges St-Pierre (left) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (right). Photo: Instagram/@khabib_nurmagomedov

Published: 6:00pm, 25 Oct 2020Updated: 4:12pm, 26 Oct 2020

Georges St-Pierre said he would have liked to face Khabib Nurmagomedov “as a competitor” but is very happy for the freshly retired fighter after his “masterful” performance at UFC 254.

Former lightweight champion Khabib (29-0) successfully defended his title against interim champion Justin Gaethje (22-3) in a second-round submission on Fight Island on Sunday – a display that fellow “GOAT” (greatest of all time) contender St-Pierre (26-2) considers the best he has ever seen.

“It was a masterful performance, as close as you can get to a perfect fight against a very, very tough threat in Justin Gaethje,” the 39-year-old St-Pierre told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

“A lot of people, including myself, thought Justin was the answer to Khabib, maybe the perfect nemesis because of his wrestling and striking pedigree.

“I would not say he did the unthinkable because Khabib is undefeated and is so good, but nobody would think Khabib would do a performance [like that]. It seemed too easy for him. It was just amazing.”

Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champ St-Pierre, who retired for the second time in 2018, waxed lyrical over Nurmagomedov’s stand up, wrestling and transitions to his fight-ending arm triangle choke.